Dragon's Roar
by Tyjet Ansatsu
Summary: PRMF. Finally complete, in Iraq no less. The Dragon begins his ascent into damnation. How far will he fall before he achieves his destiny? R&R!
1. A Death in the Family

Disclaimer: I own nothing btut eh OCs and the plot. Now get your rabid lawyers away from me nefore I kill them and hang the corpses from a tree

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Chapter 1: A death in the family

It was a normal day in Briarwood, shortly after the mystic force's first victory, and Nick accepting his role as the leader of the team. Outside the city, at the sign that read 'Briarwood, 25 miles' a group of three teenage boys and one teenage girl pulled to a stop on their motorcycles. The girl removed her helmet, letting her long chestnut brown hair cascade down her back. "Is this the place?" she asked one, riding a bloodred bike. He nodded and pointed down at the city. One on a midnight blue bike also pulled off his helmet, shaking his sweaty obsidian hair loose. "So this is where the funeral is huh? It's beautiful here." he said. The final one snorted. "Yeah, and with our luck, there's gonna be a team of power rangers here." The one on the bike shrugged. "Thus far it has been as reliable as the seasons." he remarked serenly as they put their helmets back on. "Or a recurring butt rash." the one on the black bike retorted as he roared off. "Why is he acting like his head's been shoved up Bill Clinton's ass?" the girl asked. "Can't rightly say. He's your brother." the one on the blue bike said as they resumed their journey.

Down at the Rock-Porium, Vida spinning up some new music, while Nick made some repairs on his bike. Again. Xander was lounging around as per his usual style, Madison had her trusty video camera rolling, and Chip was, well...being Chip: acting like an idiot. In short, it was yet another boring day. All that was about to change, however. The door opened, with the little bell dinging to let them know. Xander looked up to see a guy dressed entirely in black, wearing a motor cycle helmet. "Do you know where the cemetary is?" he asked with an edge of an Irish accent in his voice. "Yeah, go down this road and turn left at the light, then make another left after a few more blocks." he replied, not bothering to get up from his chair. Mumbling his thanks, the guy left and climbed on a black bike and roared off with three more. Nick looked up. "No way.." he moaned as he watched them drive away. "You know them?" Vida asked. "We met at a truck stop a while back. At the time, that guy was threatening to kill some one for hitting on his sister." Nick explained as he sat down.

At the cemetary, the group trudged in, and walked up behind a woman in her forties, standing next to a man in his early thirties. "Your late, dragonlets." he said to the one in black. "I know Uncle Chang, I know. Had to get directions." he said with a sigh as he knelt beside the grave, and placed a single black colored flower on it. "May you soar with the dragons, tousan." he said as he began to recite the prayer for the soul of the man buried there. "May you always bask in the sun." the female continued as she placed a yellow flower on the grave. "May your dreams be pleasant and care free." the one dressed in blue said as he placed a blue flower next to the others. "And may you carry out the divine will." the final member of the group said, placing a red rose on top of the rest. The group all stood and left, save for the one dressed in black.

"What aren't you telling me, kasan." he said as he slowly stood. "He died fighting." she said as she handed him a sword. The boy stiffened and took it. "Against who?" he asked. "The knight wolf..." she whispered as the sword vanished into thin air. The boy turned to leave. "Dave, wait." she said, halting her son. If she didn't say this now, he would go on a rampage trying to exact his revenge. he was, after all, his father's son in every sense. "He wouldn't want this.." she whispered. Dave nodded, and left. Chang looked at his nephew's retreating form and sighed. This city was about to be rocked on it's foundations.

As he joined his friends outside the cemetary, he reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a yellow and black crystal. "Not again.." he groaned when it glowed slightly. The other pulled out crystals as well, which glowed slightly as well. Damn you fate, was the common thread of thought as they stowed the crystals again and mounted thier bikes, unaware of the eyes watching them.

Inside the massive Rootcore, Udonna sat reading from the Xenotome, trying to figure out why there was sudden surge of magical energy in the city. Turning the page, she found nothing. She ahd gone over the entire tome, and had found nothing at all. Strange. The tome was supposed to house all the things they did not know. Looking to the orb of light nestled among a nest made of branches, that allowed her to see the happenings in other places, she found it was showing the four bikers who had just left the cemetary. Strange. it had been showing them briefly for the past few days. But why? On a hunch, she turned to one of the first pages in the tome, and began to read. Her eyes widened.

At the Rock-Porium, Madison was flirting with Nick by trying to get him to show her how to fix the bike. The roar of motorcycles filled the air as the group from before pulled to a stop and entered. "What do you need, mates?" Xander asked, standing this time. "Just browsing." the one in red said hoarsly, like he had been yelling at a tree for four hours straight. Xander nodded and flomped back down. "Hey, do I know you?" the one in blue asked Nick. "Yeah, we met at that truck stop." he said as he reached for a wrench. "I'm Ian." he said as he handed Nick the wrench. "Thanks. I'm Nick." "The guy in the red is my bro Derak, and the chick is my girlfriend, Ashlee. And the guy with the attitude is Dave." Ian said as he kneeled by the bike, admiring it. "Sweet ride. Where'd you get it?" he asked. "My dad gave it to me for my birthday." Nick said as he finished the repairs.

There was blast of music as Vida put on one of her favorite recrods. To Ian's amusement, Dave pulled the guitar off the wall and started playing and singing along. Well, it WAS his theme song, after all. AC/DC, Back in Black. Toby chose that moment to come out of his office. He took one look at the group and went back into his office muttering about whackos. Dave hung the guitar back up, and continued with his impromptu concert, to which the mystic force clapped at the end. "Thank you." he said queitly. Derak's senses flared to life at that moment. There was magic around them. He could see faint traces of it everywhere in the shop, and there were five magical auras radiating in the room. With a start, he relized they were coming frommthe five teens in the room. Apparently, the others could feel it as well, just not as well as he could.

"You guys know any places we could stay?" Dave asked. "There's an apartment complex next street over." Chip supplied. "Thanks. See y'all in school, I guess." Ian said, hinting to the others that they needed to stay until theyfigured out what was with the magic. The others nodded in understanding. Dave, however, had his own agenda. As they group left, Nick's mystic morpher went off, signalling them that there was trouble. As they ran outside, they were met by a group of hidiacs. This was bad. They couldn't morph here, and they seemed to know it. Too late now. The five charged, preparing for another beating. To their surprise, the hidiacs died before they could even touch them.

Derak watched the happenings from the park across the record store. "Whatever those things were, they can't sustain themselves for very long on this plane of existance." he said. "Not like we can.." Ian added thoughtfully. "So whatever those things were, they need to find a power source to sustain them?" Ashlee asked as she studied the mystic force. "Exactly. But why would they attack those five? Unless.." Dave trailed off as they all looked at him. "What if they need their magic to survive?" he asked. "It's still too early to tell. We must wait, and then we will know for sure." Ian said. They nodded and headed to the apartment complex.

"Why would the hidiacs attack here? they've never been that stupid before." Nick said aloud as he leaned against the counter. "Maybe they're getting desperate?" Madison guessed. Xander shook his head. "If they couldn't even touch anything, why bother coming here?" he said. This was really confusing. They're mystic morphers went off again, except this time, they made it to the tree. As they emerged, they were attacked by more hidiacs, this time up to scratch. After about five minutes, they were dead, per se. As the group entered, they saw Clare sweeping the floor. "Where's Udonna?" Nick asked. Clare pointed at the Xenotome, where Udonna sat reading. "Ah, rangers." she said as she stood. "We have much to discuss.."

In the under world, Dave stood hidden in the shadows watching the hidiacs being infused with some sort of new energy. Whatever it was, it gave them a boost in power, until they came in contact with an elemental energy source, such as Nick's power over fire. Interesting. But why, was the main question. Why would they just get powered up, if they would die after five minutes in the human world. As his father would've said "A kalediscope of questions only requires one answer." But what was the answer?

"So, there was a differant kingdom that didn't participate in the war, and was destroyed because of this?" Nick asked Udonna, who had just finished telling the tale. "Not quite. They sent their own warriors into battle, each with their own powerful magic, all derived from the dragons whose powers they harnessed, hence the name Dragoons. But their power was too strong, and went out of control, desrtoying their own civilization, causing the Dragons to curse and exile them to another plane of existance. They vowed never to use their power again, but they broke that oath a number of times, each time sealing themselves again." Udonna said. "And this has to do with us how?" Vida asked. "When the hidiacs attacked the city, they were most likely looking for these dragoons. Why is still uncertain." Udonna said.

Dave emerged from a shadow on the wall in their new apartment, looking disturbed. Well, more disturbed than usual. "Well, what's the verdict?" Ian asked. Dave looked at him. "That you need to impregnate yourself with your finger." he said as he walked down the hall to his room. Ian followed, only to see Dave fading into another shadow. Where was he going this time? Ian shrugged and went to talk with Derak. Ashlle looked on as Derak threw him off the balcony. It didn't help that they were on the third floor, and right above the pool.

Dave looked around at the place he had emerged. The ladies room. "I gotta work on that.." he muttered. He froze as he heard footsteps approaching, accompanied by a shit load of giggles. "Shit on Derak's cloak!" he swore as he ducked into a stall and transformed into a gothic chick. "I, like totally dumped his sorry ass, and he was all like 'you so don't know what you r missing, baby.' Can you belive that?" he heard one say. He mentally groaned. Preppies. One step below politicians on the parasite chain. He opened the stall door and walked out like he owned the place, ignoring the looks he got from the preps. Once he was outside, he quickly lost his diguise. Looking around he discovered he was in a mall. This was gonna be a long trip..

The rangers were now back at the record store, where they were doing some touch up chores to pass the time until the next attack. The bell over the door jingled again, causing themto look up. It was a man who dressed like a punk rocker. "You got any AC/DC?" he asked. Vida nodded and pointed. He mumbled his thanks and began looking through the selection. He grabbed an album and placed on the counter. Nick rang it up, and noticed for the first time how his eyes were the same vibrant green as that Dave guy's, and he had the same short, spikey red hair that defied gravity. "You know anyone named Dave?" Nick asked out of sheer curiosity. "He's my nephew. Why, he get in trouble already?" the man replied. "No, he was in here earlier singing Back in Black." Nick responded as Chang counted out the money "Meh, that's been his theme song since he left the miltary. Honorable dischrge." he said carelessly. With that, he left. The rangers looked at each other. "Military?" they said in unison.

Dave looked around mall, feeling like a caged rat. Mutated and decayed zomibes, he was fine. Mass murderers and serial killers? No problem. But him in a crowded area like this and he became more clautophobic than a fat man getting an MRI. As someone bumped into him, he grabbed the guy and applied some pressure to his wrist. The guy yelped in pain and handed him back his wallet. That was the fourth time some one had tried to pick his pockets, all having the same results. If it was his friend Anthony, that thing would be on the other side of the building by the time he noticed it was gone. Why was he here again? Oh yeah, he had to find...

As Chang walked back to hgis apartment, whcih he was unpleasantly surpirised to find was right across the hall from his nephew's entourage, he thought about why all of this had happened. A crack had appeared in the gate, that much he knew. But how? It was time to visit an old friend of his, and hope to high hell that she didn't magic the shit out of on sight. Yes, my dera reader, he was going to see Udonna.

Deep in the underworld, Gorag, the knight wolf( I forget what his name is, so if anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it.) had just finished the first power upgrade to his hidiacs. It was sadly temporary, but it would suffice for now. At least until he learned to harness the power of the snow staff to enhance them even further. His victory over the Lunar Dragoon was a great one, and many more would follow.

Back at the mall, Dave wandered into a store, noticing how every one seemed to be scared of something. A quick glance around told him it was some one in the room, but who was the question. His gaze fell on an innocent looking teenage girl, standing by the door. As he continued to study her, he picked out details he hadn't noticed before: her hand was jammed into her pocket, and her eyes had a hard look to them. He didn't really care, it had nothing to with him. It was obvious whoever he was looking for wasn't here, so he began to leave. "Stay put." a cold voice commanded. Dave looked at the speaker, revealing it to be the girl. Dave nodded and leaned against the wall. This was gonna be a long day.

At the apartment, Ian had just come back in from his "graceful" dive into the pool. "That was low, man!" he complained as he wrung the water out of his shirt. Derak shrugged and moved a piece on the chess board. Playing chess with himself; he had to get a new hobby. His shrink had told him as much. He took a moment to reflect on the group's problems: Ian had a drug addiction with weed, which he was trying to quit with Ashlee's help, Ashlee had the same dependancy with pain killers, which Ian was helping her give up, he was a pyro on the road to recovery, and drank way to much, and then there was Dave. He was a pyscho, and he had been through rehab for his smoking and drinking, which had failed on the smoking part. Now the only thing he drank was sake, and even then, not that much.

Dave stared at the woman who had revealed she had a gun. "What's your deal, lady?" he asked casually as he flipped a coin up and down. "Never you mind, goth." she spat. Dave rolled his eyes. "Please, is that the best insult you've got? I mean, who has NOT used that one?" he asked the store. Not a hand went up. With a growl, she advanced on Dave, who tornado kicked the gun away, then punched her in the face. Picking up the gun, he emptied all the bullets and threw them away. "If I were you, I would think twice about messing with other people like that, lady." he said icily as he left. The rest of the crowd mobbed her, placing her under citizens arrest. With a satisfied smirk, he melded into a shadow, heading home.

As Chang walked through the woods, he became aware of the increasingly strong magical aura in the area. He came to a stop in front of the massive dragon head that served as the netrance to Rootcore. It was shut. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a stone with several differant solors on it, as well as differant engravings. Holding it out, he chanted a quick spell, making the stone low bright pink and the dragon head to open. With a smile, he entered.

Udonna had just finished telling the tale to the rangers when she sensed him. It couldn't be..he died during the war! "Rangers, there is some one here." she said quietly. They nodded and got into fighting stances as footsteps approached. "Be at peace, rangers, I do not come to battle." a voice said. Chang appeared before them, dressed like they did in the magic part of the woods, except with dragons all over his uniform. "Pleasure to see you again, rangers." he said humorlessly, noting the shocked looks on their faces. "Who are you?" Nick asked as they tensed up even more, if that was even possible. "Not your enemy, so you can relax, pheonix." Chang said dismissively. "Udonna, has that book of yours told you anything of what is happening?" he asked. She shook her head. "I thought as much. I have bad news." he said. Udonna looked at him as if he was joking. More bad news?

"My brother has been slain by the knight wolf who calls himself Gorag. Now my nephew is going to try and kill him." he stated. "That's good, isn't it?" Chip asked. "To an extent. But Dave has a tendancy to let his emotions control him, making him hard to reach and reason with." Chang explained. Taking a glance at the orb of light, he said, "You are needed in the forest, rangers." before disappearing. They nodded and threw their cloaks off. "Magical source, Mystic force!" they called out while dialing the code to morph on their morphers. As they left to defend the forest again, Udonna sank into her chair. If there was a dragoon intent on revenge, it would make the ranger's job of preserving the peace much more difficult.

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What now? REVIEW! 


	2. New Power

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs, thier powers, and the plot. Now get the lawyers away from me before I kill them all!

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Chapter Two: New Power

The rangers arrived on the scene to see the hidiacs mindlessly destroying. Usually they had some sort coordination, but for some reason, they seemed to destroy everything that got in their way, even their fellow warriors. "What the heck is up with them today?" Nick yelled as they morphed, drawing their magistaffs. Nick slashed one, only to have it replaced by another. Chip shot about twenty bolts of energy, all hitting the same one, having no effect at all. As Xander captured several in his vine attacks, Vida used her wing attack to blast them. Madison summoned up a massive geyser. All of this had no effect. Then, it stopped. The hidiacs just froze, and turned toward something in the woods. The mystic force never saw what it was, they only heard a powerful roar before the hidiacs got ripped apart by an unseen force.

In Rootcore, Udonna sat staring at the ligth orb. Who was that? Why would they appear now of all times? This was bad. The last time this happened, it had nearly meant extinction for the dragons. But what was going on that made the hidiacs turn toward whoever was in the woods? And why had they stoped attacking? Arg, she was getting nowhere, and the Xenotome wasn't helping either. The only thing in the tome was the sotry of the dragoons, nothing more.

As the rangers demorphed, they saw the hidiac bodies beginning to disentigrate. Nick saw something on one that had yet to dissolve. There were jagged claw marks all over the creature, making it appear to have been mualed to death. Whatever did that was strong, he could say that much. As all the bodies vanished, they left via tree. They failed to notice the slight smell of sulfur in the air, as well the blackened pathces of ground and deep scars in the earth.

Ian sat in the center of his room, deep in meditation. Images were floating across his mind, some hazy and distorted, some clear as snow water. One in particular caught his attention. It was the battle site from which the mystic force had just left. Upon seeing what they had missied, he began to mentally survey the area. There was a flash of movement, and then nothing. His eyes snapped open. There was a powerful creature out in those woods. But what was it? He needed to find out before it struck again.

In the underworld, Koragg was furious. What had defeated his super hidiacs? No ranger could've done it, so that left the creatures that lived in the forest. And yet none of them was even strong enough to fight a regular hidiac effectively, not without a large number of its kin to back it at least. That meant there was something in the forest that hadn't been there before. But what? Calling a hidiac to him, he ordered it to search the battlesite and tell him what it saw. A few minutes later it returned, nearly destroyed. Koragg's eye's widened slightly. Here? Impossible, they were all wiped out in the war, he had made sure of that.

"Udonna do you have any clue what that thing was?" Chip asked back at Rootcore. The sorceress shook her head. "Well, whatever it was, it sure knows how to handle itself in a fight." Xander remarked. As their converstaion was taking place, deeper within the massive tree, a crystal sat surrounded by thorns, preventing it from being removed. It glowed brightly for a fraction of a second, and was dull once more. Up in the main chamber, Udonna stiffened, feeling the magical energy from the tree pulse for a moment. "Udonna, are you okay?" Madison asked. "Yes, child, I am fine. You sohuld go back to your own world." she said, hiding her troubled expression. As the rangers left, she teleported herself to the crsytal chamber, to find it lifeless as always. That was strange.

As Dave re-emerged in his room, a sudden screeching sound filled his head. He stumbled as he clutched his head, growling in pain. Then, it stopped, only to be replaced by a gentle hiss. He collapsed onto his bed, trying to make sense of it all. The last time this had happened, he had blacked out and woke up the next morning lying amid a pile of ruin that he later discovered to be a warehouse. And he had no idea what had happened, or how he got there. The screeching sound returned, this time with more force. With a groan of pain, he grabbed his crstal. Surprisingly, it stopped. He stared. Now? This was just freakin great.

As Udonna was about to leave the crsytal chamber, it flared to life, hotter than molten fire. It began casting an eerie glow upon the walls that resembled a dragon taking flight, brething a blast of flame, destroying things, and in short, causing untold destruction. Udonna sheilded her eyes as the light grew brighter. Then she felt the presence of another in the room. "Who are you?" she shouted at the figure. "Do you know not?" it hissed. The magic aura it radiated was intense, like the fire of the pheonix. "No, I don't." she replied. "I am called Keledon. I come here to speak with the one you call Chang." the warroir said as he turned, revealing he was but a ghost. "I am here Keledon. What has happened?" Chang's voice said as he appeared. "She is free once more.." he whispered. Chang bowed his head. "I thought as much. Why else would those crystals the dragonlets have be acting this way?" he said heavily. "Would you care to explain all of this to me?" Udonna said. Chang nodded and began his tale..

Outside the record store, Dave sat on a bench holding his skateboard. So far he had been told off by many old ladies for his behavior. He couldn't help it, really. It was all part of his love for extreme sports. A love that all his friends shared with him. He heard some one sit down next to him, and judging by their scent, it was a female. "So, how long you gonna stay?" he heard her ask. "Until I get kicked out." he replied, hearing her giggle slightly. Turning his head, he saw that it was Madison. "So, what do you do for fun around here?" he asked. "Me? I do videography. What?" she said as he made a face. "I hate cameras." he stated as he noticed she was carrying hers.

The COPS theme song suddenly sounded, the culprit being Dave's cellphone. "Yeah?" he said casually. "Bro, get yer ass in gear, we're goin skatin." Derak's voice came over the phone. Dave hung up and looked at Madison. "You wanna go?" he asked. She shook her head. "Can't, I'm on break right now." she said as she stood up. Dave also stood. "Aight, see ya around." he said carelessly as he rolled off, ollieing over a parked car. She shook her head. He was what Vida would call a 'rebel without a cause'.

Dave shot past a cop car, giving them the finger just for fun. As they began pursuit, he grinned evilly and turned down an alleyway. With catlike reflexes, he grabbed the bottom rung of a fire escape, and swung up, board and all. He watched in amusement as the patrol car slammed into a dumpster, whch was sent flying, littering the place with rancid garbage. Laughing, he hopped down, and skated off, fully intent on going to the skate park. As he emerged from the alley, he saw the mystic force running toward a tree, and vanish into it. Out of sheer curiosity, he followed.

When appeared, he quickly noticed he was now dressed like Darth Mual, from star wars. Just freakin great, magic. As he was about to go back into the tree, he saw the mystic force running ahead of him. He shrugged and followed, leaping from tree to tree. As they came to a stop, he saw about fifty super hidiacs all surrounding something. His breath caught in his throat at what is was: it was a dragon, sverely injured. A mask appeared over his face, and with a dragonic roar, he leaped from the tree, and attacked.

The mystic force stared as this new warrior drew a sword like Nick's, except with a dragon instead of a pheoinx, and was black, and went to work. "Away with you!" he yelled as he fired a blast of energy from his sword, causing an explosion, blowing all the rangers away, except Nick. Pulling out his morpher, he flung his cloak off and shouted "Magical source, mystic force!" and morphed into the pheonix ranger. "Need some help?" he yelled to the other guy while transforming his wand into his sword. "Why not?" he yelled back, ducking under a slash from the hidaic general. The two stood back to back, and began usig nearly the same style of sword play as the other rangers got back up. They stood in shock upon seeing the battle. The dragon raised it's head weakly, and shot a blast of flame, frying the remaining hidiacs.

The masked one knelt beside it, speaking to it softly. There was a flash of black and yellow light, and it vanished, leaving behind a coin with a vicious looking claw on it. The person vanished without a trace. "Power down." the group said. Nick stared at where the dragon had laid, only seeing a giant scorch mark, and the strong smell of sulfur. "Who was that?" Vida said as they left.

Dave rolled into the skatepark, to find a very pissed off Derak. "Why are you always late?" he asked. Dave gave him a look that clearly said "mess with me and die." "Where the hell have you been?" Ashlee demanded. "In the woods getting this." he groused as he showed them the coin. "Is that the dragon power coin?" Derak asked. Dave nodded and pulled out his crystal, and inserted the coin into a slot that appeared. The slot disappeared, and the coin appeared to be sealed inside the crystal now. "Dragon ranger?" Ian asked skeptically. "I guess." he said as he slid the stone into watch, where the symbols on it became the face and hands. Dave mounted his borad and shot down the half pipe. His dragonic powers were returning to him, and once they were fully regenerated, he would destroy Koragg.

"And so the Dragon Ranger has returned, Udonna." Chang finished. Udonna nodded. The dragon ranger had appeared during the war with three other warriors, and had nearly destroyed both sides. It had been the only time the entire war that the morlocks and the mystic force had cooperated. "I must ask you not to tell the other rangers of this, or try to persuade him to join you; he has his own agenda to follow, and this time he intends to keep it." Chang said as he turned to leave. "Oh, and one more thing..if you see him, stay out of his way." Chang said as he vanished. Udonna nodded and headed back up to the main chamber of Rootcore, thinking about the new information that had just been revealed.

At the skate park, Dave was taking a short rest when his dragonic senses activated. Danger. And it was close. But what was it? Looking around, he spied the same girl that he had punched earlier in the mall. As soon as she looked at him, she got this pissed off look on her face and pulled out another gun. "You got me arrested, you crazy fuck!" she screamed at him as she fired. Dave swore and dodged the bullet, thankful his dragonic powers had just been restored. As he skated off, another shot ripped through the air, putting a hole in one of the half ppipes where his head had been. Doing a complete 180, he shot toward the maniac, Ashlee did an impressive jump and smacked the girl in the head, knocking her out.

"Why the hell is she after you, bro?" she panted as she rubbed her hand. For being so easy to KO, she had a damn hard head! "Eh, I got her placed under citizens arrest at the mall when she was trying to hold up a store." he said as he flipped his board up into the air and caught it deftly. "Well, now that you've succeeded in screwing up the afternoon, how about bike racing." Derak asked as the other two rolled up. "Sure. You think that Nick guy'll know where they meet?" Ian asked as they walked to Ashlee's car. Even though they could all drive, they only took one car at a time, and left the others in a garage that Chang owned.

Pulling up in front of the rock-porium, they got out and walked in. "You know where Nick is?" Dave asked Madison as she came out of the back room carrying a box of new CDs. "He's out back unloading the truck." she said as she nodded toward the back door. "Thanks, babe." he said quickly as he walked out, the others close behind him. "Did he just call me babe?" she wondered aloud. She shrugged and went back to work.

As Nick pulled the last box off the truck, he saw the group coming towards him. "Hey." he said as he set the box down to wipe the sweat off of his hands. "You know where they meet to race motor cycles?" Derak asked. "Yeah, out on the road that leads out of town. Why, you gonna race?" he replied as he picked up the box. "Yeah." Ashlee said offhandedly. "Okay, but just so you know, these guys don't race for fun, they race for keeps. So if you don't want to lose your bike, you'd better not race." he said as he walked inside. "Keeps, huh?" Dave said thoughtfully.

Later that night, Dave and Ian pulled up on their bikes, with Derak and Ashlee piggybacking. Up ahead, they could see an assortment of bikers, all whooping about something. "Hookers.." Ashlee spat disgustedly. "This coming from a girl that would shake her ass for money.." Ian muttered. "Hey, there's a differance between dancing and just fucking." Ashlee defended. "Well, we got us some rookies, boys!" one yelled. The crowd all turned to them, revealing it was nothing but males.

"Hey, they brought their own bitch, so we don' hafta share ours!" a big one yelled. The others laughed. "Normally, I'd get off my bike and kick yer ass for talking about my sister like that, but since I'm in a good mood, how bout we race instead?" Dave called to him. A large cheer went up through the crowd at this statement. "Yer on. Fer yer bike kid." the guy growled. "How bout we make this a tag race, just to keep things interesting?" Ian asked. The others nodded approvingly. "Me an bro against you an your best racer." Dave said immediatly, knowing that the spokeman was usually one of the best, so this way, they stood to gain two good bikes.

As Ian and another guy got ready to go, Dave studied his opponent's bike. It was pretty fast, but not very stable, while his partners was the oppisite: moderate speed, but hard to knock over. He'd have to hit some thing head on to go over. The race was on! Ian tore ahead fairly easily, but was having to slow a little around the curves. This was giving his opponent a slight advantage, becasue he could go the same speed the whole way. Ian looked in one of his mirrors and grinned; the guy was gettin cocky. As they turned around to go back, Ian exposed his bikes best trait: it could turn on a dime. As he crossed the line, Dave kicked forward and roared around the first curve, nearly tipping over. As he passed the guy Ian had put to shame, he grinned and sped up even more, fast approaching the turn around point. When he reached it, he popped a wheelie and turned around, shooting back the way came, still in the wheelie. As he crossed the line, he dropped out of the wheelie.

The crowd was going nuts as the other rider pulled back up. "You twos are pretty good." he admitted. "You to, man." Dave said as the four shook hands. "Hey, you ever wanna go again, holler at us!" Ian yelled over his shoulder as they rode back toward the city, with Derak and Ashlee riding the new bikes. "Maybe we will. Maybe we will.." the leader said as he and his partner hitched a ride home from some one else.

The next morning, Dave rode his bike up to the graveyard and stood looking at his father's grave. He was gonna kill Koragg this time, and nothing was gonna stop him. Hearing a noise behind him, he whirled around while pulling a knife out of his back belt loop. He relaxed when he saw it was only Madison. "Are you always this jumpy?" she asked teaseingly. "No, just when there's a hot girl coming up behind me unannounced. Why?" he replied. "About the other day.." she began. "What, me calling you babe?" he said blankly. She nodded. "Why'd you say that?" she asked. "Cuz you are a babe." he said, as if it was the obvious thing in the world. "Why are you here?" he asked as he sheathed his knife. "Visit my dad." she said, nodding to the grave next to Dave. As she was placing the flowers on the grave, she heard Dave. "You wanna go out some time?" he asked her. "You serious?" she asked him. "Perfectly." he replied with a grin. "Okay. How about Friday?" she asked. "Cool. See you then." he said as he walked out and rode off. "What am I getting myself into?" she muttered as she walked out as well.

Later on at the rock-porium, Vida was grilling her sister for the details. When was he picking her up? Where were they going? When would she be home? And eventually, the sex question, at which point Madison yelled at her and damn near slapped her. "I have no idea, Vida!" she exclaimed, blushing bright red afetr Vida had asked her about the last one. Xander looked up from his magazine. "You're actually gonna date this guy?" he asked, a little dumbfounded. After all, she turned down most guys, including him. "That's a switch." Chip remarked as he once again played like he was sword fighting. His stick of candy was intercepted by another one. Chip looked at the person holding the other stick, to see Ian standing there, grinning like the chesshire cat. "Ya, know it works better if you have an opponent." he said as he spun and slapped Chip's stick so hard that both of them broke, spilling candy evrywhere. "My bad, I'll clean it up." Ian said as Chip moved to sweep it up. The other watched as he waved his hand and the broom and dust opan shot forward and swept it up. "Pyschokinesis." he explained upon seeing the looks on their faces. There was a small beeping sound, and Ian looked at his watch. "Shit, gotta go." he said as he dashed out of the room. Not two seconds later, their mystic morphers went off, telling them there was a problem in the woods.

As they emerged, they saw a giant Blue wolf, about the size of the dragon they had seen earlier. And like last time, the was some one defending it, this time wearing blue, and weilding a massive axe. Xander stepped forward. "You want some help?" he asked. "Sure." the stranger said as he dispatched two hidiacs with one swing. Xander drew his magistaff, converted it to axe mode, and charged. Working together, they defeated the hidiacs in about five minutes. Like the dragon before it, the wolf transformed into a coin, this time with a snarling wolf depicted on it. The stranger picked it up, bowed to the mysic force, and disappeared. This was getting strange.

In some unknown location, the person in blue appeared and pulled off his mask, revealing it was Ian. "Did you get it?" Dave asked as he practiced a martial arts kata. "Yeah. It was a wolf." he said as he did the same thing with his coin as Dave had. "I'm kinda gonna miss my dragon powers." he said sadly. "I know. But this has to be done, at leats until we beat the shit out of Koragg." Dave said as he back flipped half way across the room, sweating profusely. Ian nodded, and teleported away, leaving Dave to train in solitude, like he always did. He just hoped that this was a fight they could win.

At rootcore, Udonna watched the battle play out. So that was the one they called Ian, was it? He certainly was strong, she gave him that. But what was with those coins? A sudded thought struck her, and she hastened to the Xenotome and began to read. her suspicons were confirmed. Those coins possessed massive magical energies, but could only be used by certain magicians. This was an interesting development, to say the least.

Later that day, when the rock-porium had closed for the day, the rangers all sat in a booth at their favorite hang out. "So, when are you goin out with Dave?" Vida asked mischievously, drawing all eyes to Madison. "Friday. Why?" she said as he bobbed her head in time to the music. "Cuz you still gotta tell mom, remeber?" Vida said with a roll of her eyes. How Madison could forget the single most important detail about her dating life was beyond her. If her mom didn't like the guy, then the answer was no and she was forbidden to see the guy again. Mostly why Madison rarely dated guys.

A new song started up, this time a really fast paced one. "Wanna dance, Vi?" Xander asked, extending his hand. "Sure." she said indifferantly. As the pair hit the dance floor, Nick laughed. "What?" Chip asked. "Those two both like each other, and don't even know it!" he said as he continued laughing. Chip and Madison laughed as well. In the booth behind them sat Ian and Ashlee, relaxing aftre a hard days training, the two were beat. Well, not enugh for them to be out of energy. Upon hearing this, Ian gave Ashlee a look that meant trouble. "What are you gonna do now?" she asked as stretched. "Not damn thing." he said as he headed toward the rest room, cutting through the dance floor on his way. He was still grinning when he spotted Xander and Vida. As he passed the pair, he ever so casually nudged Xander forward, making the two of even closer than they already were. And judging by the blush on their faces, his plan worked perfectly.

Ashlee frowned from her seat. He said he wasn't going to anything. He had been hanging out with Dave way to much. If this kept up he would inevitably have them dating qithout anyone knowing he had a hand in it. As she continued this little thought session, she noticed how Ian seemed to be watching the door. As she was about to get up, she heard Madison talking to Chip and Nick. "Yeah, I like him, but something about doesn't feel right, you know what I mean? It's like he gives off this wierd vibe." she was saying. Even though she couldn't hear their answers, it sounded like they agreed with her. Who was she talking about, anyway? Her thoughts were again interuppted, this time ny Ian flomping down itno the seat next to her. "I saw that, Ian." she said blandly. "What? You can't prove I did anything." he defended

As the guys got up to go dance with the others, Madison was left alone with her thoughts. 'Why do I feel like something bad is about to happen?' she thought as she watched all her friends out on the dance floor having fun. She had always been really shy, mostly because everyone paid attention to Vida more than her. She stood and walked into the bathroom, only to find Ashlee standing there talking to soem one on a cell phone. "No, you listen to me. I don't give a damn what plans you made, you already agreed to help us move our shit into the new apartment. Well, I'm sure she'll understand!" Ashlee yelled before hanging up. "Trouble at home?" Madison asked as she leaned against the counter. "Yeah, my brother made this date on Friday when he knew damn well we had to move our old furniture into the new apartment." Ashlee said. "What?" she asked, seeing the look on Madison's face. "Uh, I kinda had a date with Dave on Friday, Ash." she confessed. Ashlee looked like she had just been hit by the telephone book. Before she could answer, her cell phone rang. "What?" she said irritably into the phone. Her expression changed. "Right, I'm on my way." she said with a sigh. "Sorry, Madd, gotta jet." she apologized.

As she walked through the club, she grabbed Ian by the arm and whispered something in his ear. he nodded and followed her. Madison sat back down, this time with her sister. "Well, I just found out Dave had prior arrangements on Friday." she said as she took a sip from her smoothie. Vida looked at her pitying ly. "Maybe he'll still make it?" she suggested weakly. Madison shook her head. "It's okay. I'll probably see him tommorow anyway." she said, while screaming on the inside. "What's up, ladies?" a voice slurred. They both looked up to see a drunk standing there. "Go away." Madison said, pushing the guy's hand away as it reached for her. "Darlin, one touch of your hand sets my pecker on fire!" he slurred again, obviously thinking that this would seduce her. "Maybe you should see a doctor." Madison retorted, as Vida fought back a blast of laughter. "Is there a problem here?" Xander's voice asked. The guy turned and swayed so comically that Vida couldn't help but laugh. Madison hung her head. This was gonna be a long night.

In the underworld, Koragg was busily trying to figure out what the deal with those giant animals was. First there was that dragon, now the wolf. As he looked through his "eye of the master", he saw yet another one: a large and majestic unicorn. "Hidiacs! Bring me the unicorn!" he roared. "That would not be wise, knight wolf." a voice hissed from the shadows. Spinning around, he came face to face with Dave, who looked pissed beyond belief. "You again?" Koragg growled as he drew his sword. "I didn't come here to fight. Yet." Dave hissed. "Then why?" Koragg asked. This was not like the dragon ranger he knew. "I came for this." he stated as he held up the snow staff, and disappeared again. "What? How did he-?" Koragg growled. The dragon's magic was powerful, more powerful than it had been the last time they fought.

In the forest, the unicorn was standing there, emitting a dim white light. Ashlee appeared before it, smiling serenely. The unicorn looked at her for a moment, before it actually bowed to her. She smiled even wider; it recognized her as its master. As she softly stepped forward, a group of Hidiacs appeared, screeching horribly. Ashlee covered her ears as the Unicorn let out a fierce niecgh, lowered its horn, and charged. Ashlee dodged a slash, and drew her own sword, and began fighting with the unicorn. Soon, the hidiacs were dead. The unicorn bowed again, and transformed into a coin. Picking it up, she sealed it within her stone, and left. There was only one more mystic creature. And it was the most difficult to obtain. Derak was going to have his work cut out for him, but if he was truly going to lead them, he would do it.

As Vida and Madison drove home, they were both silent, thinking about various things. "So, Maddie, what are you gonna do about mom and this date?" Vida asked, breaking the suffocating silence. "I have no clue. I guess I'll just do the usual: tell mom, introduce them, and see if she approves." Madison said with a srug. "Do you always do what you rmom says?" a male voice asked from the back. Vida slammed on the breaks, making whoever was back there bounce around like a pin ball, cursing all the way. They both looked in the back to see Dave sitting there rubbing his head. "Damn, girl, you drive like Derak does!" he complained. "What're doing here?" Madison asked disgustedly. "I came to apologize. I forgot I had already promised to help my uncle move our stuff." he said as he sat up straight. "You wanna give me a second chance?" he asked. "Well, he could meet mom tonight." Vida said. "Alright, you got one more chance." Madison said. "You still haven't my question. Do you do everything your mom tells you to?" he asked. "For the most part, yeah." she replied. "We gotta work on that..." he muttered as they pulled up in front of their house.

Madsion's mom looked up when she heard the front door close. "Curfew was five minutes ago." she said disapprovingly. Then she noticed dave. "Girls, who is this?" she asked. "Um, this is-" Madison began. "I'm Dave. I'm takin Madison on a date Friday night." he cut in bluntly. "You most certainly are not!" she sputtered, having sapt her coffee back into the cup at his bluntness. "And why not?" he asked. "Because I will not have my daughter dating a person of your type!" she exclaimed. "Okay, what type would you have her date? The rich guys who only care about deflowering her?" he asked, even more blunt this time. "Okay, dave, time to go!" Madison yelled out, dragging him outside. "I don't know how you did it, but you got a date." she whispered as she kissed him on the cheek. "Sweet. See you then, babe." he said as he pulled his skateboard out of Vida's car and rolled off.Either way she looked at it, this was gonna be a night to remember.

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	3. Stolen and Returned Tragedies

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs, their powers, and the plot. Saban owns everything else.Read on!

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Chapter Three: Stolen and Returned Tragedies

Ian sat in the kitchen patiently, feeling Dave's energy growing closer. The door swung open to admit the said dragoon, who looked happy as a clown. "What's got you lookin like you could take on the world. Well, more so than usual, at least." he admonished as Dave looked at him a bit funnily. "I'm still on for Friday night." he said as he took off his combat boots. "What time we movin the shite?" he asked. "Bout four, it'll take a few hours." he replied. "Good, then I can still make it before eight this time." he said with satisfaction as he padded down the hall to his room. "Damn fool, he didn't even ask if it was in the morning or not..." Ian muttered as he followed, except going to the room he and Ashlee shared.

As Dave entered his room, he lit a candle and sat in front of it, watching it burn itself out, a ritual he had undergone every night since he had heard his father was dead. Reaching into his closet, he withdrew the snow staff. "What was so important about this thing anyway? My Dragon Sword is much stronger." he said to himself. With a shrug, he put it back in his closet and blew out the flame.

At Koragg's lair, the said Knight Wolf was fuming. Just as he had unlocked the secret to the snow staff's powers, that damned Dragon ranger had stolen it. Why was the question though. His magic was strong enough, and besides, he couldn't use it anyway. With an angry growl, he called a squad of super hidiacs to him. "Go to where the dragon lives, and return to me the snow staff." he commanded, thankful Morticon could not leave that accursed pit. If he could there would be hell to pay.

Chip had a nasty habit of practicing his archery skills late at night, so he wouldn't get caught. Well, there was that one incident with a patrol man, but we won't dwell too much on that. As he stole across his front lawn, he noticed a group of what appeared to be hidiacs. Why were they here again? With a sigh, he tossed his bow and quiver aside and began to follow them. He was shocked when they started climbing up a fire escape and opening a window. Since when were they this intelligent? Pulling out his mystic morpher, he dialed Nick's number, since he was the closest. "Nick, we got some hidiacs acting really wierd. Get over here, now!" he hissed into the device. Nick came creeping up a few minutes later. Chip wordlessly pointed at the hidiacs. "Let's ranger up." Nick whispered. "Magical source, mystic force!" they both whispered. The hidiacs turned toward them and began thier own attack.

The two rangers were putting up a good fight, but wothout their comrades, they seemed to be getting their asses handed to them on a silver platter. As a super hidiac was about strike Nick, a blast of lightning destroyed it. "Thanks, Chip." he panted. "But I didn't do anything." Chip said confusedly. They both looked up to see what appeared to be another ranger. He wore a black costume, similar to the original green ranger's costume, with golden yellow lightning bolts on his arms and legs like the stripes on the dino thunder costume. In his hand he held a sword made entirely out of lightning. "I'm back,hidiacs." he hissed softly as he leaped down and began tearing them apart.

After he was finished with them, he turned toward the rangers. More specifically, Nick. "You...you control the fires of the pheonix." he stated. Nick was getting a bad feeling about this...With a sudden lunge, Nick found himslef locked in a sword battle with the mystery ranger. As he dodged a slash, he was knocked backwards by a sudden blast of wind. With another slash by the mystery ranger, he felt himself demorph. "Normally I'd just kill you now, but seeing as you aren't really worth it, I'll just be taking this." he said as he picked up Nick's mystic morpher and vanished. This was bad; now he couldn't morph, let alone do magic. Chip rushed over to him. "Nick what happened?" he asked as he helped him up. "He took it." he whispered. "Took what?" Chip asked. "My mystic morpher..he has it now.." he said as he passed out.

The mystery ranger strode across a massive chamber, and stopped in front of a small pedistal. He placed the morpher on it, and powered down. It was Dave. "One down, four to go.." he whispered as he sat in a chair that appeared. He didn't want to do this, but he didn't really have a choice if he wanted to return home any time soon. Yes..home. The planet called Lunaria.

Ian sat bolt upright in his bed, sweating profusely. "What's wrong?" Ashlee asked sleepily as she sat up as well. "It's Dave. He's done something terrible..He stole the red ranger's mystic morpher. And we can't deal with him until Derak returns.." he moaned as he hung his head. He just hoped Derak got that damned coin soon, or they'd be short one team of rangers.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the mountains outside Briarwood, Derak was climbing up the waht appeared to be the steepest and most rugged mountain in the area. "Man, if I had known it would take this long, I would've brought more than just a lunch." he grumbled as he continued to climb. 'be thou the one?' a mystic voice asked. Derak looked startled. "What do you mean?" he asked shakily as he clambered up onto the summit. 'be thou the one?' the voice asked again. "I don't know." he said as he looked around. 'ah, honesty. a good quality.' the voice said. "Who are you?" he asked as he looked around wildly. 'the better question would be who are you, young geomancer.' the voice said. Derak closed his eyes and spoke. "I am Derak Hodwell, of the geomancers of Lunaria, master of the red volcanic dragon." he said confidently. 'you claim to be the master of a dragon. then why dost thou desire my power.' the voice asked. "I need your help to defeat her." he said, knowing it would know who he meant by "her". 'very well, young geomancer. if you can capture me, i will grant to thee my power.' the voice said. Derak nodded as the speaker appeared. His breath caught in his throat. Before him stood the most beautiful bird he had ever seen. It was the fire bird.

The mystic force all sat around the table in Rootcore, discussing what happened. "And then he just took it?" Xander asked. "Yeah, and he said normally he'd kill me, but I wasn't worth it." Nick said. "Where were you when all of this was happening, Chip?" Vida asked. "I was standing there, frozen." he said. "What?" Xander said. "I think he means he couldn't move." Madison said. Chip nodded vigorously. Chang's words flashed across Udonna's mind at this point. 'He has his own agenda to follow, and this time he intends to keep it...' "Something tells me this won't be the last time we see him." Madison said.

As Derak leaped from summit to summit, he watched as the fire bird pulled out of a beautiful dive. Clapping his hands together, he raised one to the skies, making lightning rain down on the bird, while slapping his other hand to the ground, making stalcites shoot out of the ground. He stopped when he saw they all went staright through the fire bird. "It's not there.." he whispered as he turned to where he had started. Sitting there was the fire bird. He teleported silently behind it, and touched its back. "I have caught you, fire bird, as per our agreement." he said softly as it turned into the coin. Sealing it within his red crystal, he felt the absence of one of the rangers back in Briarwood. 'What happened now?' he thought as he vanished.

Derak appeared to see Ian and Ashlee sitting in the kitchen, obviously waiting for him. "Thank God!" Ashlee exclaimed as the pair jumped up. "What happened? Where's Dave?" he asked, dreading the answer. "Dave stole the red ranger's mystic morpher." Ian said, not wasting any time. Derak paled. This was bad..not only did they have her to deal with, but now this? Could this get any worse? Famous last words, don't you agree dear reader?

The next morning, after finding Dave and beating the living hell out of him in order to find out where he had hidden the stolen morpher without success, Dave entered the rock store. Madison was behind the counter at the moment, with Vida spinning up some new tunes. "Hey." she said as he leaned on the counter. "I'll pick you up some time tonight, okay? Just be ready to go whenever." he said nonchalantly drumming his fingers to the music. She nodded as Toby came out of the office. "Can I help you with something?" he asked. Dave nodded. "Yeah, I'm lookin for a certain CD. It's called 'Acidic Remix.'" Dave said. "Never heard of it. Sorry." Toby said as he went back into his office.

Vida stopped what she was doing at the mention of that CD. "Why do you want that CD? It's been at the bottom of the charts for months?" she asked. "Cuz, my dad sang on it." he said. Vida nodded in understanding and reached under the the counter thing she stood at. Her handed emerged holding the CD. "Here. Keep it." She said. He thanked her and left.

As he walked down the street, he took a short cut down an alley, not noticing that people were following him. As he was about to leave the alley, a guy stepped out in front of him. "What in the seven hells do you want?" he asked. "Yer on our turf. If you ain't got a skull on yer back, then get the hell out and leave yer cash here." the leader sneered. "Fuck you." Dave said as he brushed past one onto the street, where he encountered even more. "Why do I get the feeling that this is gona hurt them more than it'll hurt me?" He said as he jumped over a guy trying to tackle him. As he ducked under another guy's punch, he excuted a fairly decent sweep kick, and did a hand spring away from the lot of them, falling into a martial arts stance. "This fool think he Bruce Lee!" one yelled as they charged. Five minutes later, Dave walked away without a scratch, while his assailants were laying in a bloody and broken heap.

"So when exactly is he picking you up?" Vida asked her sister while they were on lunch break. "I have no clue, he just said to be ready to go anytime." Madison said as they waited in line at the McDonald's. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about my brother, wouldyou?" the person at counter asked, revealing it was Ashlee. "Yeah. Why?" "I'll tell you later, my manager'll kill me if I don't get you r order in the next five seconds." "Two number threes without cheese." Vida said. "Here or to go?" Ashlee asked. "To go." As the pair walked off, Madison looked at her sister. "What did she mean she'd tell us later?" Vida shrugged.

As Dave slammed his door shut, he could hear the folk below him yelling, followed by the sound of some one getting slapped. He ignored it as usual. He had moved out of the aprtment he shared with his team, mostly because of the incident. They just didn't get it. All he wanted was to be free of this farce of a life and go back to his home. His team had adapted quite well, but he hadn't. He still hated bright lights, which was why he always wore sunglasses, day or night. He strode over to his closet, and pulled out his over coat. There was just something about Madison that drew him to her. Probably her way of making those around her feel at peace, even when they were being tortured by their inner demons. Looking out the window, he smiled in satisfaction. The sun was setting. Perfect.

Madison stood up in her room trying on differant outfits when her mom walked in. "Madison Rocca, what the hell are you doing?" She shreiked upon seeing her daughter wearing a pair of PVC boots that went all the way up past her knees, and a black leather mini skirt. "I was, uh, trying on soem new outfits for the spring dance!" she said quickly, thankful that it was coming up. "Alright, but you are not wearing THAT!" her mom said as she walked out. Madison shivered as the wind blew through her window. Wait, she had left it closed. Spinning around, she saw Dave sitting by her bed, grinning like the cat that had just raided the proverbial cream. "I like." he said as he stood. She rolled her eyes as she grabbed her jacket. "Let's go." she said. She almost screamed when he picked her up bridal style and jumped out the window, landing on his bike. "I gotta work on that landing..." he squeaked as she climbed on the back. "Hoodlum, bring back my daughter!" her mom yelled as she dashed out onto the porch, waving a shot gun. "HOLY SHITS OF HELL!" Dave screamed as he accelerated, while Mrs. Rocca opened fire. "Where are we going?" Madison yelled in his ear. "You'll see!" he yelled back. Madison grinned. After getting shot at by her mom, it was like she was a totally differant person.

A few miles out of town, Dave pulled to a stop in front of a massive building, which was all lit up and everything. "What is this place?" she asked as they stepped in. "This? This is one of my brother-in-law's frined's night club. He started it a while back, when he left the dance circuit." Dave explained as they sat down at a table. The music was really upbeat, with a healthy portion of bass, which made the liquid in everyone's glasses jump in time to the beat. "Wanna dance?" he yelled over the music. She smiled and nodded.

Across the room sat Ian, watching his former team mate. He sighed heavily. He didn't want to do this, but he really had no choice. "When are you gonna do the deed?" Ashlee asked as she slid into the seat next to him. "Soon. After we know what he's going to do with that morpher." he replied, watching intently. Derak sat on the other side of him, mnuttering about evil penguins. "I gotta say, those two look good together." Derak commented as he snapped out of his muttering daze, as they called it.

Up in the owner's office, which sat over looking the dance floor, the said owner was enteraining some guests of his: his two good friends, Jason and Trini Lee. "Awesome place, Zack." Jason said as he reclined in a stylish black leather chair. "Hey, you know Dave comes here a lot, right?" Zack said as he played some pool. "He does? News to me. Last I checked he hated really loud noises." Jason said. "No, that's lights, honey." Trini said as she lined up her shot. Jason looked out the window. "Hey, isn't that him down there in the middle of the floor?" he asked while pointing. The other two looked. "Yep, that's him. And by the looks of things, he's in another dance off with another regular." Zack stated as he went back to his shot. "He's pretty good. He knida dances like you, bro." Jason said as he watched. "Well, who do you think taught him?" Zack said as he sank the eight ball. "I win again Zack." Trini said without looking at him. "Damn, that happens every time.." he muttered.

Down on the floor, Dave was currently owning the other guy, who dropped out a few seconds later. "Who taught you to dance like that?" Madison asked him as they went back to their table. "Meh, same guy who owns the club. He's a pretty cool guy, once you get to know him." Dave said as a waitress came up to their table. "The manager would like for the two of you to join him in his personal booth." she said. Dave nodded and stood. Madison followed, and noticed how Dave seemed a bit more on edge now.

As they approached a pair of mahogahny doors, The waitress turned and left. Dave sighed, and dealt the door a devastating kick. The door swung open without so much as a scratch on it. "Dave, my man!" Zack said as the pair entered. "Hey, Zack." he said as he looked past him. "Jason, sis." he greeted. "Who's your friend, little brother?" she asked mischieveiously. "I'm Madison." she said cheerfully. "Hmm, kinda reminds me of Kim." Jason said. "Who?" she said confused. "Another of their friends from high school." Dave explained. "So, what did you want?" Dave asked as he flomped into a chair, with Madison sitting on the couch oppisite him. "Heard you moved out of the apartment you shared with every one else. Why?" Jason asked. "Never you mind, Red." he spat, not wanting Madison to hear that he had been the one to steal the morpher. "Dave, tell us." Trini pleaded. "We had a little falling out, aight?" he said. Zack snorted. "You call a gun fight with M203 grenade luanchers and M2409 SAWs a 'little' falling out? Man, I'd hate to see what a major one would look like then." He said shaking his head.

The pair stayed with them for another half hour before Madison told Dave she had to go. He nodded and the two climbed back on his motorcycle. As he was about to drive off, he heard a hissing sound. Not like the sound of tires being deflated, kind of like a snake. He shook it off. There was no way they would attack now, it was too risky. As the pair drove off, out of a pudle of engine fluid rose a deformed figure, holding a lantern up so it could see. As it limped off, it left a trail of red slime behind it.

"I had a great time tonight." she whispered to him as he set her down after jumping back through her window. "Cool. You wanna go out again some time?" he whispered, as to not wake her family up. "Sure. Just drop by the store sometime and we'll set it up." she whispered as she hugged him. He nodded and jumped back out the window. As he rode off into the night, Madison fell backwards onto her bed with a smile playing across her lips.

The next morning, Dave woke up to see Ian sitting in a chair at the foot of his bed. "What do you want?" he asked tiredly. "I want you to return that damned morpher you stole." Ian said angrily. "You wanna know why I took that blasted thing in the first place, bro?" Dave asked as he sat up. Ian nodded. "I'm tired of living this existance. I just wanna go back to the way my life was: no stones, no coins, no battling evil, just being a normal Lunarian. Okay? I don't expect you to understand, but that's the way it is, aight?" he said as he stood and began pacing. "You're wrong, mate. I do understand. I wanna go back to that too, but I also know something you don't: you can't do it with another person's power. When you're ready, the way will be shown to you." he said sagely as he vanished in a flash of fire. "What the hell did he mean by that?" he wondered aloud.

Down at the record store, Madison was being grilled for the details by her friends. "Okay! We wne tto this awesome nightclub, called the 'Mammoth Gardens' or something. What?" she asked upon hearing the gasps. "No way. He took you to the most exclusive night club in all of California?" Vida gaped. "Yeah, he knows the owner." she said offhandedly. "How?" Xander asked curiously. He had been trying to get in that club for ages. "Um, I think the owner is friends with his brother-in-law, and his older sister." She said with a shrug. Their mystic morphers went off at that moment, cutting all explanations short.

As they emerged in the woods, they saw the mystery ranger standing there. "What do you want?" Xander asked. He wordlessly tossed Nick's morpher on the ground and turned to go. "Who are you?" Madison called after him. He stopped, and looked over his shoulder. "Ask not of the shadows, for they know not. But for the sake of reality, Drago will do." he said in a hollow, distorted voice. As he began to fade away, Koragg appeared with a massive host of hidiacs. "There you are, dragon ranger." he sneered as he slashed at 'Drago', forcing him to materialize. "Koragg..I will kill you!" he roared as he drew a sword.

As the pair began to attack eachother, the super hidiacs attacked the mystic force, who in return, began pulling out every thing in their arsenal. A blast of energy destroyed a group of them, the users being Derak, Ashlee and Ian. "Need some help, rangers?" Derak asked as they all pressed a button on their watches, making thier crystals apeared appear in place of the watch face. "Mountain guardian, blue wolf!" Ian shouted as he transformed into the blue wolf ranger. "Forest guardian, White Unicorn!" Ashlee shouted, changing into the white unicorn ranger. "Guardian of life, Fire Bird!" Derak shouted as a wreath of flames formed around him, changing him into the red fire bird ranger.

As the guardian rangers joined the fight, "Drago" was firing massive bolts of lightning, effectively blasting downed trees to splinters as he tried to hit Koragg, who seemed to be toying with him. "Is that the best you have, dragon?" he sneered as he raised his sheild. "Behold, the eye of the master!" he yelled as the energy blasts issued forth, striking 'Drago' square in the chest, and shattering his visor. "Oh my God..." Madison breathed as he sat up. The dragon ranger was Dave. And by the looks of things, he was pissed. "So you wanna play that game, do you?" he snarled as his sword changed to a long bladed sword, with a gold colored blade, and jewels inlaid into the handle. On the hilt, were two words: Momento Mori. "Sword of Ancient Kings!" he yelled as he slashed the air, sending a massive wave of energy from the blade at Koragg, who barely managed to get out of the way. His army, however, wasn't so lucky. As Koragg made his retreat, Dave collapsed, and the last thing he saw, was the blue mystic ranger kneeling in front of him.

When Dave came to, he was lying in a bed somewhere. "Rest easy, son. You've had a long battle." a familiar voice said. "Dad?" he breathed. Merrick nodded and stood. "It took courage to do what you did today, returning something that was stolen, and then battling your enemy knowing you stood no chance." he said as he faced a window. "Only that would've allowed you to unleash your sword's true power." Dave looked around, finding they were in his old room on Lunaria. He looked out the window to see waht appeared to be dusk, knowing it ewas actually noon. "How long has it been since you have seen your home, my son?" Merrick asked. "Too long." he whispered, having forgotten how beautiful the land was. "Dave, go back. There is still no place for you here yet." Merrick said as he turned back toward his son. Dave nodded.

Dave awoke once again, this time finding himself on the forest floor, with his friends and the mystic force hovering over him. "So you finally accepted it, did you?" Derak asked. dave stood, and noticed how the mystic force seemed to be staying far awya from him. With a sigh, he turned to leave. "Where are you going?" Ashlee asked. "Away from here. I've done nothing but cause trouble." he said as he melded into a shadow. Ian turned toward the mystic force. "You relize he left to stay away from you guys, right?" he asked. Madison stepped forward. "Why didn't he tell us who he was?" she asked. "For the same reason you don't tell your parents who you are. He didn't want you to worry. This is his fight." Ashlee said as she too stood. "What's that supposed to mean?" Chip asked.

"When a dragon commits a wrongful act, he must leave and undergo certain rituals in the wild to redeem himself, and to cleanse his soul of the sin he has commited. He returns once this is done." Derak explained. "How will he know?" Vida asked bitterly. "How do you know what's right and what's wrong?" Derak countered. "I just do." she said. "Exactly. He will know when he is redeemed, and will make the decision to return, or not. If he chooses not to return, he must find a place to call his home and begin his own clan, and protect that area until he dies." Derak said as he prepared to leave. Ian and Ashlee had already left. The rangers mystic morphers went off, calling them to Rootcore. Derak disappeared without a trace.

As they entered the main chamber of Rootcore, they saw Udonna holding her snowstaff. "When did you get that back?" Chip asked. "Your frined Dave returned it to me before he departed for the darkest part of the woods." she said as she examined it. "Why would he return it?" Madison asked, mystified. "When I asked him, he said, "Becuase it is not mine." then left without another word." Udonna said as she placed it on the table. "Hey, Udonna, who's that on the light globe?" Xander asked pointing. The image depicted was somewhat strange. It was a woman wearing a brown dress, with a freaking huge collar on the back, and two spike like things sticking off the top sides of her head. She carried a large staff, with a giant hoop on the top. Udonna paled. "Rita..." she whispered.

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SHE'S BACK! How will the rangers cope with htis new development? Will they survive this battle? REVIEW! 


	4. Down Time

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OCs and the plot, so if one more team of rabid lawyers busts my door open, I'm gonna be pissed.

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Chapter Four: Down Time

Dave sat in the middle of a clearing, clad only in a pair of black cargo shorts, staring into the depths of his campfire. This was all wrong. He had left, and by the gossip flying through the trees, Rita had joined forces with Koragg, and the two were wreaking havoc on the city, with the rangers barely hanging on. This was all his fualt; if he hadn't stolen the morpher he would be there with them, and they wouldn't hate him.

Back in Briarwood, the rangers were all gathered at the record store. "I still can't belive all of our combined powers are useless." Xander said as he bandaged his wrist. They had all been getting injured fequently, and were having to tell their parents they were getting into extreme sports. "Not entirely useless, just most of them." Ian said. "Yeah, well, I don't see how making their heads swell up to the size of a beach ball is going to help matters much." Ashlee retorted, applying a salve to an open wound on Madison's back.

In the woods, Dave had encountered the troblin Phineas, and was currently laying on his back, while the said troblin held a flaming log over his head uncertainly. "Are ye sure about this, lad?" he questioned. "Just do it, Phineas." Dave said. Phineas shrugged and swung the log down on Dave's stomach with all his strength, which thanks to his troll blood, was quite a bit. The log shattered on impact, making Dave grunt in pain. He had a long way to go before he could return to Briarwood, or start his own clan.

The mystic morpheres went off yet again, this time downtown. "Magical source, mystic force!" they yelled. "Guardian powers, activate!" the guardian rangers yelled. Both team appeared, and were greeted by Eyeguy and a host of putties and hidiacs. "Does this get any worse?" Vida growled as she used her wing attacks. Her response was getting blasted by a massive wave of energy. "You just had to ask, didn't you?" Xander panted as he got up from the ground. "I grow tired of this." Derak hissed as he sheathed his staff. "Time to show you what happens when you mess with a geomancer." he yelled as he unleashed a barage of elemental attacks, all but obliterating his foes.

Dave's eyes snapped open from his meditation. His friends were in trouble. He had to help them. As he fought his internal war on whether to help or not, he heard a voice saying something he had once heard a long, long time ago. "Man hath no greater love than to lay down his life for a friend. Follow the path you think is right." he stood, and raised his morpher to the skies. "Shadow Storm Dragon, Power UP!" he yelled. Calling his dragon cycle to him, he rode off in the direction of the battle. His revenge was going to have to wait.

The said battle had taken a turn for the worse as the creature that had emerged a few nights ago entered the battle. He swung his lantern slowly back and forth, sending molten metal flying everywhere. "What in the hells is that thing?" Ashlee yelled as she dodged some of the metal. "It's a Lossoth! It's a grave keeper!" Derak yelled back, while back flipping over one of Eyeguy's laser attacks, while firing his own attack, effectively destroying Eyeguy. "Madison, use your water magic on it!" he yelled as he flipped away from more molten fire. She nodded and flung a massive amount of magic at it, successfully turning the molten metal solid, freezing it in place. With a tormented yell, the lossoth drew a flaming machette from within its robes and charged.

"Are you sure this creature will defeat them, Rita?" Koragg asked as they watched the battle. "Of course. They can't destroy something that is already dead." she cackled as she conjured more. The bad thing was they could only send one at a time until they widened the crack in the gates. Once that happened, her evil would once agin be free to walk the earth. And then, she would destroy those damned rangers once andfor all, starting with the dragon ranger.

Dave shook his head. This was impossible. If there was a lossoth in Briarwood, then that meant she was only going to send more. And judging by how they couldn't even get close enough to attack it, this would be a fight they would lose indefinately. He just hoped he got there in time, or he'd be on his own.

Vida screamed in pain as the flaming weapon connected with leg, demorphing her. As the lossoth went in for the kill, Xander threw his axe in front of the weapon, making it turn on him instead. "Run, Vida!" he yelled as he dodged several slashes. But only just. As he attempted to dodge again, it quickly reversed its slash and hit him as well. It had even taken out the guardian rangers. The only one left standing, was Madison. As it slashed her powers away like it had every one else, it raised the weapon to strike her again, this time to kill her. As the blade rushed down, it was intercepted by a black blade. It was Dave. He was back.

"AWAY WITH YOU!" he shouted as he went into what Derak called 'turbo mode', where he moved as fast as lightning. Judging by the amount of blood that was hitting the streets, he was owning the lossoth. "I'll dig you your own grave!" it hissed in a tortured voice. Dave exited turbo mode, and faced the creature. "Really? If I had a dime every time I heard that threat, I'd be richer than John D. Rockafeller was." he said scornfully as he lunged, slicing off the creature's arm. "Time to finish this!" he said as his sword transformed into the Sword of Ancient Kings once more, destroying the lossoth.

As the lossoth burned, Dave turned to go. "Where are you going now?" Ian asked as he managed to climb to his feet. "I don't know. I just know that I can't stay here." he said as he powered down and walked away. The other rangers also climbed to their feet. "Vida, can I borrow your jeep?" Madison asked. "What? Why?" Vida asked, highly panicked. "I have to talk to him." she said softly, so only her sister could hear her. Vida sighed and handed her the keys.

As Madison drove down the street she had seen Dave go down, she turned on the radio, letting the classic rock wash over her. As she pulled to a stop at a red light, she saw a preppy looking guy lean out his window. "Either turn that shit down, or get something decent on, like rap!" he yelled. Madison rolled her eyes and did what Vida would do: turn it up even more. As she sped off, she turned it down so her ears would stop pounding. She heard a familiar chuckle coming from the seat next to her. One look told her her searchg was over. "Hello, Madison." he said quietly as she parked.

"Why did you come back?" she asked. "Because if I hadn't you would all be dead at the moment. This is my stop." he said, nodding to a bus station. "So that's it? Your just gonna walk out on us when you saw how much trouble we had with just that one thing?" she asked disgustedly. "Not entirely. I'll be back, some time. Can't say when." he said as he hopped out of the jeep. He looked at Madison. "Just remember, magic is eighty percent beliving, and twenty percent execution." he told her as he boarded a bus bound for Reefside.

As he watched the station fade into the distance, Dave sighed. He didn't want to leave her again, but he really had no choice. One lossoth was bad, but if he knew Rita, which he did, she would be sending more powerful creatures than that. And he wasn't strong enough to defeat them, which was why he was going to see an old friend friend of his father's.

Madison pulled into her driveway, and wiped a small tear from her eye. He had said he would be back, but when was the question. As she opened the door, she found her team mates waiting for her. "Well, what did the asshole say?" Nick asked. Madison glared at him, then slapped him as hard as she could. "Don't you ever tak about him that way again. If it weren't for him, we'd all be dead right now." she hissed as she stormed upstairs. "Dude, that wasn't right." Chip said disapprovingly to Nick. "What? The guy steals my morpher, gives it back and I'm supposed to just forgive him and forget it ever happened?" Nick said exasperatedly. "Yeah, we get it, but still." Xander said.

In the guardian rangers's apartment, Ian sat deep in meditation, focused on Dave. He was wrong, there was always a choice. Dave just didn't see that very easily. He could tell that Dave liked Madison, and vice versa by the way they had interacted on Friday night. They both just didn't know how to tell the other. Sad. His musing were interrupted by a vision of what Rita planned to unleash next. No way...not here. She couldn't possibly unleash a doppleganger...

Dave got off the bus in the pouring rain. Typical..why did it always rain whenever he was in Reefside? "Dave?" He heard a female voice say. He turned and grinned. "Hey, Kira." He said as he flipped his hair backwards. It still seemed to defy gravity, despite being soaking wet. "What are you doing here?" she asked, knowing that whenever Dave showed up, trouble wasn't far behind. "I need to see Dr. O, Kira." he said with an edge of urgency in his voice. "He's not here." she said heavily. Dave paled. "Where is he?" he asked shakily. "I have no clue, other than on his honey moon." she said simply. Dave closed his eyes and focused. "He's at the airport." he said abrubtly. "Dave, he just got married!" she cried. "I gathered that when you said he was on his honey moon." Dave said dryly. This was gonna be tougher than he thought...

Ian and Xander were both engaged in an arm wrestling contest, with the muscles on their arms bulging beyond belief. "You..aren't..gonna..win.." Xander panted. "Oh..and..you..are..?" Ian shot back. Derak stood leaning against the counter, reading the latest issue of WWE. "Can you belive this shit? That fool Edge thinks he deserves the WWE title after all the shit he pulled." he said casually, ignoring the contest. "No, but I can say that Lita is a hoe." Ashlee said as she watched. "What are you guys talking about?" Vida asked. "Pro wrestling." Nick supplied as he flipped through a biker's magazine. For some odd reason, there hadn't been an attack in days, so the rangers were able to rest and recuperate. The only question weighing on everyone's mind was, when was Dave coming back?

"Hey, how's Madison doing?" Derak asked Vida. "She's okay. I think she really liked him, though." she replied as she hunted through her stacks of records for something to play. "Where is she?" Ashlee asked as she turned away from the competition, which was still going strong. "She's at home. Every time I try to talk to her, she tunes me out and starts listening to AC/DC." Vida admitted. Derak looked at Ashlee. "Sounds like our little blue ranger has a little bug." he said casually. Ashlee nodded. "I'll go talk to her." she said with a sigh as she grabbed her helmet off the rack that Toby had installed. "What are you guys plotting now?" Ian asked as he finally managed to get Xander's wrist to touch the table, even though the sounds their wrists had made sounded a hell of a lot like bones breaking. "Not a dman thing. Just trying to Maddie to stop moping around." Derak said as he eyed the way Ian held his wrist. "Dude, you might wanna have a doctor look at that." he said. Ian looked at his wrist and swore.

As Ashlee pulled up in front of the Rocca house, she shook her head. How she always got roped into doing this was beyond her. 'Chalk it up to the girl talk theory.' Dave had told her once, only to get a lovely shiner on his left eye out of it. Knocking on the door, she was greeted by a gothically dressed Madison. "Girl, lose the goth look, it just ain't workin for you." she managed between laughs. "What do you want?" she asked tiredly as she pulled something out of her pocket. Ashlee stared. "Is that a cigarette?" she demanded. Madison nodded. "And your mom doesn't care?" she asked. Madison shook her head. Ashlee sighed. 'What did dad do when he caught Dave again? Oh yeah, I remeber.' "Come on, Maddie, we have something to do." she said evilly. A carton of cigarettes later, Madison was swearing she would never smoke again to an ever patient Ashlee, who only smiled serenely. Ah, the joys of being a bitch.

Dr. O sat on the plane next to his new wife, and long time love intrest, Kim Hart. Well, it was Oliver now. He smiled softly as he thought of how the dear john letter wasn't even sent by her. Turns out it was sent by some other guy who wanted her. To put it mildly, when they had both found out, the guy was eating through a straw for a few months. Hell hath no fury like a ranger scorned. His musings were interuptted by a tapping on his shoulder. Glancing behind him, he gawked. No way...why was Dave here? Kim looked back as well, and swore under her breath. "Hey, Dr. O, do you have any idea where I could find the ninja storm?" he asked quietly. Tommy nodded and wrote something on a napkin, and handed it back. "Much obliged. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go." he said as he stood. "We're over the middle of the ocean!" Kimberly hissed. Dave shrugged. "I always wanted to go sky diving." he said as he melted through the wall, which no one else saw but them. Tommy distinctly heard Dave shouting out the lyrics of the song 'Free Falling' as he descended. He shook his head. Dave had always been crazy, but this was a first.

Back in Briarwood, Madison was back to her normal self after Ashlle took her on a "Rebel's Binge" which involved smoking until she puked, then drinking until she passed out or puked, which ever came first, and finally, another smoke session. Brutal. After an hour long shower, Madison had sworn off both habits. As the pair re-entered the record store, they found Ian all but mummifying his right hand, with Xander doing the same. "Hey, you guys like pro wrestling, right?" Chip called from the other side of the store. "Yeah, why?" Derak hollered back. "It just said on the news that Briarwood'll be hosting the WWE this month!" he yelled back. Derak and Ian both looked at each other and grinned. Ashlee groaned and hung her head. She knew that look. It was the look they had worn when they were about to do something incredibly stupid.

Dave landed in the ocean with amassive splash, thankful he had all his powers back. If he hadn't, he would be boneless right now. As he swam toward the shore, his nose picked up a rather interesting scent. Weapon. He grinned cockily and dove beneath the surface, his eyes reacting like a gator's would. He grinned in spite of himself. He was right. There, floating aimlessly through the depths, was the Emerald WEAPON. Ian's powers must've called it from the game it was in. Now all he had to do tell his friends, once he got back. As he resurrfaced, he promptly wished he hadn't: the U.S. coastguard had been in the area, and had probably seen his little dive, and had come to investigate. Damn his luck.

"Son, you better have a damn good story for this." the commander said as Dave was hualed aboard the cutter. Dave shook the water out of his hair and looked up. "Does being abducted by aliens count?" he said srcastically. "Son, you relize that you were in the middle of the freaking ocean, no boat, no life jacket, and we had just seen some one land. And I'm willing to bet my cutter it was you." the commander said. "Can you just take me to Blue Bay Harbor?" he inquiered. "Fine, so long as you never speak of this again." the commander said. Dave noded and settled in for the long trip to Blue Bay Harbor.

In Briarwood, outside the stadium, there was a huge line forming. At the head, were Derak and Ian, comrades in tow, mostly against their will. "Remind me again why we're here?" Nick said as he impatiently tapped his foot. "So we can get tickets to RAW this week, man, why else?" Derak said airily. "You just had to tell them, didn't you?" Vida grumbled to Chip. "If he hadn't they would've found out the day after they left, since they don't watch the news." Ashlee supplied. As they waited for their tickets, a limo pulled up, and out stepped Edge, the "Rated R Superstar", with his whore, Lita, on his arm. "Well fuck me..." Ian whispered. The crowds began to mob the pair for their autographs and the like, when a Hacksaw Jim Duggan-like shout of "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOE!" filled the air. Well, two actually. The crowd stopped and turned to see Ian and Derak grinning like the cheshire cat. Edge went about as red as his pants and stormed up to the pair.

"What did you call my girlfriend?" he said through gritted teeth. "We called her a hoe. Why, you got a problem with that, Mr. Transitional Champion?" Ian shot back. If at all possible, Edge went even redder. "Ya know, maybe we should ease up, I mean he's gonna get his ass kicked by Mick Foley at Wrestlemania anyway." Derak said. Lita had walked up by this time, and was sizing the two of them up. "You guys shouldn't pick fights with people who are better than you." she sneered. Ashlee snorted at this. "Please, you wouldn't know better than Edge if it bit you on the ass. Of course, you would probably enjoy that." she said. Lita was also going a lovely shade of red at this remark. "Well, we could settle this in the ring, if you want, transitional champion." Ian offered. "Normally, I'd tear you punks to pieces in the ring, but I already have a challenge by some unknown weakling, so I'll have to pass on that." he sneered at them. Ian shrugged. "No balls, huh? It figures. Oh well, we at least get to see the asshole lose tomorrow night." Ashlee remarked as the pair stalked inside.

Dave sat cross legged on the floor of a dojo, waiting patiently for the person to arrive. How he had managed to wiat this long was a mystery to him, seeing as he had such a short temper. He closed his eyes and began to meditate, something he'd been doing a lot of recently. As he inhaled, he stiffend slightly. There was some one else in this room, and that person was extremely well trained at erasing all sense of their presence. It was him. Sensei was finally here.

"So, Vida, what's goin on with you and Xander?" Madison asked her sister as the pair drove to work the next morning. She gripped the arm rest for dear life as Vida swerved across a mercifully empty lane. "What?" she yelled, her eyes bugging out beyond belief. "Oh come on, we've all seen the way you look at him when no one is watching. The only person who doesn't know you like him is Xander himself." Madison said exasperatedly. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Vida said unconvincingly.

As they pulled into the parking lot, they saw the guardians ranger's bikes already there. As they entered, they saw Ian and Derak seemed to be debating something. "And I say his whore'll interfere so he can win like she always does. You know that every time that ass has a match, she finds a way to interfere just so he can win the match." Ian insisted. They were obviously referring to Edge and Lita. "Yeah, I know. I just hope the damn ref bans her from ringside for once." Derak admitted. As the debate continued, the mystic force did their required chores, occaisonally taking part in the conversations.

Dave panted as he was slammed against the wall. Every attack he had thrown, sensei had found a way to reverse it. It was like fighting a ghost of himself. Witha flash of relization, he leaped to his feet again, this time luanching into a frenzy of attacks, waiting for the inevitable reverse. There! As sensei found the hole in his defense and exploited it, he was shocked when Dave dealt a devastating forearm smash. Had sensei not dodged, he would've been through the wall. He nodded approvingly. He was finally learning. If he attacked mindlessly like he had been, he would lose every battle. "You are ready." he said. Dave bowed, and left.

As he exited the dojo, he found his bike there already. Weird. A quick scan around him told him there was no danger. Climbing onto his bike, he spared one last look around. He was kinda gonna miss this place, it was really peaceful. As he rode off, he couldn't shake the feeling something bad was gonna happen. He shook his head. If there was any danger, he would've sensed it. For now he had to focus on how he was gonna get back in the mystic force's good books. That was gonna be no easy task.

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well, what do you think? Reviews are welcome. 


	5. Be Thou A Knight?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs and the plot.

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME DISTURBING IMAGES.**

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Chapter Five: Be Thou a Knight

Chang sat in a chair that he was sure Dave would call a "Back rehabilitator" due to how uncomfortable it was. In front of him was a mirror. The image within had been bothering him for some time now, but he hadn't been able to make any sense of it. Until now. The image depicted was a dragon losing its wings, falling into the sea, and becoming a mermaid. He knew Madison's mystic symbol was a mermaid, and Dave's was a dragon. What the image meant he wasn't entirely sure, but at least now he had a vague idea. His musings were interrupted by a flash of scarlet light. He stared. A new figure had appeared in the image. It was a pheonix, and by the looks of things, it was the pheonix that caused the dragon to lose its wings. So Nick played a role in all of this as well? That was interesting. A buzzing sound interrupted his thoughts, signalling him that he had a call waiting on that damn thing they called a phone.

Dave pulled to a stop at a biker's bar, fully intent on fueling up before he hit the road again. He was stopped by a a group of masked bikers, who were all emitting strong magical auras. "Be thou the dragon?" one hisssed soundlessly. Even though it made no sound, he heard it perfectly. "Be thou the dragon, Michael?" it asked again. "I turned from that path long ago." he said in return as he began filling the gas tank. "The master craves a word with you." another hissed, like the one before. "I have no desire to return to that path, preordained or no." he said as he finished topping off the gas tank. "That is not your decision." another said, with a solid female voice. He stiffened. What the hell was she doing here?

Ian's eyes snapped open. He had been meditating a lot recently, and was reaping the benefits of it. Thus far he had seen parts of Rita's plan. But what he had just seen had been truely disturbing. The image consisted of Dave standing there, roaring in dragonic triumph over the fallen red ranger. What had disgusted him was Dave had actually cut off his head and...it was too horrifying to think about it. "Did you see it as well?" Derak asked as he exited his meditative state. Ian nodded wordlessly. If this was the future, then they had to do what they had meant to before Dave had returned the morpher. And that was something they did not want to do: strip him of all his powers, making him a mortal.

Ashlee stood before a council of what appeared to be wizards. "And he has left the order once more?" the leader said. She nodded. "Very well. You may inform the fire bird that he has been promoted to pheonix status to deal with this new threat. And if you see Michael again, tell him the princess is here." Ashlee paled, but nodded anyway as the council vanished. The princess of Lunaria, here on earth? This was news to her. Last she heard, princess Mercedes was somewhere beyond the comet fields. Hopefully she didn't run into Dave, seeing as the pair had at point been very close before the Dragon Flight mission.

Dave stared at the woman. "Mercedes." he whispered. "It has been a long time, Michael." she whispered as she flung back her hood, revealing her face for the first time since she had left Lunaria. Her skin was a mysterious mixture of copper and peach, resulting in it looking differant in various light forms. Her hair fell down her back and stopped at her waist, black as a raven's wing on a moonless night. But it was her eyes that were her dominant feature: they had no pupils, or irises, they were just the a deep purple, a trait of the royal family. "What are you doing here?" Dave asked, ignoring the fact that they had been using his true name. "I think the question should be what are you doing here, Michael. When you're supposed to be on the planet Vigal." she said regally. "Yeah, like I would stay on what is now a chunk of burned rock." he retorted, mounting his bike. With a final comment in lunarian, he roared off. Had he stayed longer, he would have seen one of the guards transform into a hidiac. "Mercedes" smiled wickedly and vanished. The master would be pleased to know that he had not detected a thing.

Madison had just finished stocking the shelves when an all too familiar engine sound filled the air. At first she just thought it was one of the guardians, but upon hearing Vida's exclamtion of "Oh my God!" she turned to see Dave sitting astride his bike, grinning cockily at her. She shook her head and let a small smile grace her features. He never changed, did he? Her thoughts were cut short by Ian dashing out the front door and slugging Dave across the face. To her surprise, he rose without a scratch on him, and returned the favor. "On Lunaria, that is how we greet renagades who have decided to return." Ashlee explained. "The return punch is to show both respect and how the said renagade has grown." Derak finished. The mystic force nodded to show that they understood.

Outside, Dave was having a what COULD be considered a normal conversation. "So you saw her? You saw Mercedes?" Ian said, flabbergasted. Dave nodded and pulled one of his gloves off, revealing a nasty cut. "When did that happen?" Ian asked, a wee bit shocked. Dave had been the princesses personal bodyguard at one point, getting promoted to the rank of knighthood for his services. During his service, he had fought many battles, and destroyed entire civilations, all under her orders. What had gone wrong, to cause him to go against her orders, and leave Lunaria? "About five to ten miles out of town, why?" he said as he applied the same salve Ashlee had used on Madison's back to the cut. "You do relize that she'll be wanting you to relinquish your status as her protector right?" Ian asked as they walked in. "Yeah, but she can't take my knighthood away, only the king has that power, and last I heard, he was pushin up daisies." Dave said as he hung his helmet on the rack.

He turned to come face to face with Nick. "I have no clue what's going on here, but I don't trust you." he said so only Dave could hear him. Dave scowled. "Likewise." he said as he brushed past him. Why Nick was so hostile toward him was beyond him. He stopped when he saw Madison standing there, her expression unreadable. One look was all it took for him to relize he had made the right choice. Now, he had one final task. He had to redeem himself on the field of battle. "Are we alright?" he asked Madison as he sat next to her. She nodded slightly. "I'm glad you're back. Ian's been working on how to stop her since the lossoth incident." she explained. He nodded. He didn't really wanna talk about this right now, but he would if she did. "Cool. We should be able to stop whatever they throw at us." he said, while on the inside screaming at her to leave this subject. And fortunetly, she did. "Do you like wrestling?" she asked. He nodded. "Well, we all got tickets to go see RAW tonight." she said. Dave grinned. "Awesome. It's been a while since I've seen a good match." he said heartily. She grinned despite herself.

Mercedes stood before an altar of sorts, with two beings chained to it as if they were being crucified. As she began to chant in a low tone, the altar began to float towards the ceiling. The two bound to it began screaming in sheer terror upon relizing why there were massive barbed steel spikes on the celing. Mercedes smiled demonically as their blood fell like rain. If Michael saw this, he would no doubt relize what she truly was: she was no longer a lunarian, but a daemon of the underworld. She smiled like a little school girl at the thought of destroying him. Derak's eyes misted over suddenly, going from brown to a brilliant red. Looking around him, he relized he was seeing through the eyes of another. But who? Around him were various weapons and other armaments. He was in the lunarian armory. His breath caught in his throat upon seeing who entered. It was Dave, garbed in the armor of a lunarian knight. "What did you want, Giaton?" he said. Giaton? The captain of the guard? "Michael. Now that you have attained the rank of knuighthood, the princess has requested you as her personal guard." Giaton said disdainfully. "Know this, Michael. If you should do anything to harm her, it will be the end of you." Giaton said as he exited the aromry. Derak's eye's returned to the normal color. He had just seen one of Dave's memories. But why would he be able to see them now? "You see them now because I choose for you to see them." he heard dave's voice hiss in the back of his mind.

Morticon stood facing Koragg, enraged at the loss of the snowstaff. That meant that the white mystic ranger would be joining the battle again. I allow you to keep that damned staff, and this is what happens? You may be a powerful warrior, but you have much to learn as a sorcerer, Koragg." Morticon bellowed as he raised his sword. Koragg drew his own, and the pair were about to face off when Rita appeared. "Enough!" she shreiked, waving her wand everywhere, frying hidiacs. "The doppleganger is nearly complete, we only need a sample of the person's magic to complete uit." she said evilly. "I will provide that." a new female voice said. It was Mercedes. In her hands she clutched a vial. Contained within, was blood.

Much later that night, at the stadium,k the crew sat watching a bout between the Big Show and Carlito, with the Big Show dominating the ring. "CHOKESLAM HIM!" Dave yelled. Big Show seemed to hear him, and did just that, ending the match by KO. Madison looked at Dave, who seemed to be having the time of his life. As the Big Show left the arena, and hauled Carlito behind him, Edge's entry music started up. As the fool stepped into the ring, he lifted a mircophone. "Alright. Now, you are all probably wondering why I ain't kicking the shit out of some one like I always do, but here's the thing." he began. "Some reject from some second rate show, thought it would be funny to challenge me, The Rated R Superstar, to a hell in a cell match." Edge said as Lita did her whole worship thing. Madison looked beside her to see dave was gone. And Ian was laughing his ass off. Before Edge could say anything else, a new entry music started up, this one being the Mortal Kombat theme song. Madison stared as Dave strode down the ramp, dressed like Darth Mual.

Jumping into the ring, he snatched the mic from Edge. "Reject, am I?" he said as he advanced. "We prefer the term Renagade." Dave said as he smashed the mic against his skull, letting the metal fragments fall to the floor. With that, He attacked. Edge never stood a chance as dave luanched into a martial arts kata, even taking out Lita, all as the cell was being lowered from the ceiling. As the bell rang, Dave lifted Edge and threw him against the roof of the cell, breaking it wide open, as Edge landed on the solid portion of the cage. Dave grunted, and leaped after him, coming down on the cage with such force that it nearly collapsed. As he went in for the pin, his senses flared to life. Danger.

The room went dark, and then the lights came on, revealing everyone to be a hidiac except for his frineds. Dave stared at the hidiac before him, its mask broken, a disgusting mixture of rotting flesh and puss flowing down its face. What had happened to cause this? With a nasty shove, the hidiac he had been facing was falling toward the floor, and turned into a pile of goo. The other rangers had already morphed, and were dominating the battle. Something was off. Why would Rita and Koragg go to all this trouble, just to get their asses handed to them like this. His question was answered as an old rival landed in front of him. Giaton. The captain of the guard.

"Well, Michael, I see your mind hasn't dulled at all." he said in that annoying regal tone he had. As Dave was about to say something, more guards landed in the arena, nuetralizing the mystic force and the guardian rangers. Mercedes appeared next to Giaton, also garbed for battle. "Well Michael. I see you have some new comrades." she hissed as she drew her sword. "I hereby relive you of your status as my protector, but of knighthood. Now where do you stand? With us, your countrymen, or with them." she said as she pointed her rapier at his throat. "Let me reiterate this for those who don't know." Dave said as he drew his own sword. "Do I stand with you, my countrymen, or do I stand with them, what is right." he said as he fell into a battle stance. "My decision is obvious, daemon." he said quietly. "How long have you known?" she asked, slightly surprised. "When you mentioned the master, I knew. You never called anyone the master." Dave said as he prepared for the assualt that he knew Giaton would luanch.

To his surprise, Giaton laughed. "Allow me to show you my newest powers." he said as he reached into his armor and withdrew a small object, black as night. Dave didn't recognize, but when he did, he felt an iron claw of terror grip the base of his spine. It was his Dreagon Gem, housing the dark dragon spirit. Raising it to the skies, he chanted something inaudible, and transformed into the original black dragon ranger. "No..you have no idea what you've just done!" Dave bellowed. Giaton had just widened the crack in the gates. Now more evil could flow forth from the underworld. "Wrong, Michael, I know exactly what I've done. And with this power, I will destroy you." Giaton chortled. Giaton and Mercedes vanished, leaving Dave to deal with the guard. "I don't want to fight you." he said. The guard lowered their weapons. "Michael, destroy us. If you do not, she will only use us for more evil." one pleaded. Dave nodded and raised his sword. "Hellcry Slash." he whispered, as he sent a wave of blood red energy across the blade, slicing his old friends in two, their blood spilling everywhere. She woukld pay for this. Even if it killed him, she would pay.

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Sorry if this focused more on the OCs than the rangers, but this chapter was give you some more info on the guardian rangers. And from here on, this story will be rated M. REVIEW! 


	6. The Truth of Time

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the OCs and the plot, so get off my back, okay?

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Chanpter 6: The Truth of Time

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Mercedes and Giaton materialized deep within the underworld, bowing before the being they called the master. "Is it done?" the creature hissed. A clawed hand could be seen within the shadows, but not much else. "Yes Master, your puppets can wreak their havoc now." Mercedes whispered. "I see you have tapped into the powers of that stone." the creature said to Giaton, who nodded. "Yes, my lord, I have." he said as he bowed even lower. "Be sure to destroy that meddlesome knight with it." the master said as the pair vanished. The master stood and stepped out of the shadows. The crown on his head glittered in the dim light. If Michael ever found out, he would surely unleash his true powers, and that would undoubtably destroy the underworld. 

Dave sat inside of a magic circle that was said to boost your mental powers. If it worked, he would be able to reach beyond the veil, and speak with his dead comrades. The shadows swirled around him, their hiss filling the room. "Who art thou who can reach beyond the realm of reality?" a ghostly voice hissed angrily. "I am Michael, of the Lunarian Aegis knights, master of the Shadow Storm Dragon." he said in a clear voice. "Why dost thou disturb us?" the voice hissed. "I wish to see the gateway to my world." he said. "Very well." the ghostly voice said. Dave felt a cold presence all around him, as the room began to spin out of control. It felt as if he was gonna lose his lunch. And then, it stopped. As he got up, he looked around. It looked exactly as the place he had just left did, except hazy and distorted. Standing, he strode through the door, and was met by a fully armored knight, who carried a sword the size of a small bus. "Welcome back, master." he said. Dave nodded. "It's good to be back, Blade. Come, we have much to do." he said as the pair walked off into the swirling vortex of darkness.

"Is anyone gonna tell us what the deal with those people was?" Nick asked. Derak nodded. "They were Lunarian soldiers, dedicated to protecting the princess." he explained as they cleaned up the mess. Dave had left an hour ago, presumably to track down Giaton before he could unleash any more hell. "And that other guy?" Nick said impatiently. "That was Giaton, the captain of the guard. He and Dave hated each other's guts to high hell. Mostly because Dave attained the rank of white knight before he did." Ian said as he burned a pile of defeated hidiacs. "When a Lunarian attains the rank of white knight, it basically means he earned the king's recognition as a warrior and sorcerer." Ashlee explained, seeign the confused looks on their faces. "White knights are powerful swordsmen and sorcerers, so they get called on a lot to lead battles. Giaton was jealous of Dave, so he spread the rumor that he was studying the grand arcanum. His plan back fired when Dave admitted that he was, and became the first dark knight." Derak explained as he destroyed more hidiacs bodies. Little did they know that this was all part of the plan.

Mercedes laughed as she drew their magic from the decomposing hidiacs. Those fools. As she continued, she felt a blade sweep across her exposed back, spilling her tainted blood everywhere. As she fell, she saw her killer. It was Giaton. "Giaton..?" she said as she passed. Giaton sheathed his sword. That ignorant fool actually thought the creature on the throne was the master? And she had an IQ of 356. "Bravo, Giaton, bravo." a voice called from the shadows. Giaton spun to see Dave standing there, dressed in his dark knight armor. "You saved me the trouble of having to do this myself. "LOSSOTHS! DESTROY THAT CREATURE!" Giaton screamed. The floor around Dave erupted in flames as the undead grave keepers clawed their way forth. Dave drew his sword and took his stance. With ghostly roars, they advanced. "Nice, Giaton. Now allow me to shatter your delusions." he said as his sword glowed a brilliant red. "Destroy each other." he said. The lossoths turned toward each other, and savagely began to rip each other to shreds, their blood spilling all over the floor. Dave turned to Giaton. "Now then. We have business to finish, yes?" he said Giaton drew his sword. The two charged at one another, their blades singing their lethal songs as they clashed together.

Chang stared at the image before him again. The pheonix was fading, only to be replaced by another shape. It was either a dragon, or a mermaid, which he no idea. Dave had returned the snowstaff, so Udonna was free to battle in the woods once again alongside the mystic force, whilst the guardian rangers protected Briarwood. A good plan. So far it had been working well. Too well. Rita had been stangely inactive, letting her monsters run amok. This wasn't like her. Unless..Chang shook his head vigorusly. The thought he had just had was so insane, that it was actually possible. Rita was never there. Turning toward the mirror, he studied the image Udonna had seen. It was as he thought. Whatever mage had sent it, was a powerful mage. That much was clear, but who?

Back at the record store, Ian sat deep in thought in Xander's usual chair. The said green ranger was making the bank run for Toby. Ian's thoughts were interrupted by Ashlee sitting down on his lap. "You know if Dave saw this he'd go ballastic, right?" he whispered as he brushed a strand of hair off her face. "So?" she said carelessly as she leaned in and began to kiss him. God, he loved this woman.

Across the room, Vida saw Madison watching the two. Madison sighed and went back to stocking the new CDs. Vida took her headphones off, and watched her sister intently. She had never seen her act this way. Well, unless you counted that one time she was obsessed with that one singer. Then it hit her. The other day, they had said, she "had a little bug". Madison was crushing on Dave. This was rich.

Giaton panted as he dodged another of Dave's slashes, which seemed to be as elegant as they were dangerous. This wasn't right; a black knight using the sword style of the ancient kings. This was bad; not even the white knights were permitted to use it, mostly because only the king had mastered it. "Where did you learn that style?" he hissed as their blades clashed again. Dave grinned. "The sword.." he said as he charged the energy inside his sword, unleashing another slash of energy. Dave stopped and swore. With a flash of lightning, he vanished. Giaton sheathed his sword. Apparently, Dave could only remain in the underworld for a limited amount of time. Excellent.

Derak's eyes changed colors again, this time revealing the area to be a lavishly decorated room, massive in size, with gigantic columns holding the celing miles above. He swallowed hard; he knew this place. It was the siege of Lunaria. His thoughts were cut short by the sounds of feet hitting the marble floor. He looked over his right shoulder, and spotted them. It was their company, the Bladed Crescent. _"You know what waits for us, beyond these doors?"_ the leader yelled. They all raised their spears to the air and shouted _"DEATH!"_ _"Yes! The Reaper is witing on the other side of that door, and he won't be denied this time. So let's make him wait a bit longer!"_ the leader shouted. They raised their spears and shouted their battle cry of_ "DEATH!"._ There was a massive crashing sound as the doors were destroyed. As the two sides charged at each other, Derak's vision began to fail. He was glad; he had no desire to see his own death again.

As the mystic force left for their lunch break, Chip seemed to notice that Vida and Xander were growing closer together with each passing day. Then there was Madison. She seemed to be attracted to that Dave guy, while Nick was trying his damndest to tell Madison that HE liked her. Then there was him. Oh boy, did he have it bad. Not with just anyone, but Clare. And he no idea how to tell her. God, when did all this happen?

"Blade, tell me. How long has my throne been vacant?" Dave asked his retainer. "A good many years, my lord." Blade responded. "And yet you have faithfully retained it." Dave said as he glanced around the room. It was just the way he left it. Yet something was off. "Blade, where is my horse?" he asked. Blade shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Blade? Where is Catastros?" Dave asked again. "I am sorry master, but he was taken by the darkness during the war." Blade said. Dave nodded. "Then we must get him back." Dave said as he strode off into the depths of the darkness. Blade only nodded and followed. Niether saw one of the objects in the one of the many display cases flash a brilliant red on their way out.

Koragg had taken to meditating at Giaton's suggestion, to improve his magical powers. Instead, he had been seeing glimpses of the future, little by little. The most disturbing images all involved Dave and Giaton, battling to the death over a writhering pit of the damned. With an audible growl, he stood and began pacing. He would need another way to power up the hidiacs and stixoids. Perhaps Giaton could offer some assisstance, as much as he hated asking that druids help, he had to.

The rangers were about to close the store for the night when Chang wandered in. "Ian. I have something to talk to you about." he said quietly. Ian nodded and followed. "Dave has resumed his throne as the king of the shadows." Chang said somberly. Ian nearly jumped out of his skin. "Then we must also resume our thrones." Derak's voice said. The pair looked at their two comrades, and nodded. Derak would resume his throne over the elements, Ian over nature, Chang over the storm, and Ashlee over light.

As Nick rode his bike to his house, he couldn't help shake the feling that something was not right. As he pulled into the driveway of his sister's house, the feeling only got stronger. As the door swung open, a blast of cold air hit him, and he found himself in a throne room. Sitting on the throne was none other than Dave, a strange symbol glowing bright on his forehead. "I understand you helped my horse." Dave said as he stood. "Your horse?" Nick asked. "My mighty Catastros." Dave said as he pulled something out of one of the display cases. He tossed it to Nick, who caught it effortlessly. "What is this?" Nick asked. "When the time comes, you will know." Dave said as the room vanished, only to be replaced by his sister's living room. "Wierd..." Nick said as he shoved the object into his pocket and went up to his room, where he fell asleep.

Chang sat in a room, over looking a small pond, which acted like the crystal ball in rootcore. "So Giaton has destroyed Mercedes? And Dave attempted to kill him? Interesting." He said as lightning struck the pillars scattered around the room. The image changed rather suddenly. He stared. The image depicted he and Koragg battling sword to sword, and Koragg using his wolf attack on him, blasting over the edge, where he was impaled on a stone spike, his blood flowing forth like a waterfall. So Koragg would be the one to kill him? That would explain why his throne had rejected his prescence, it knew he would be dead soon. How soon was the question. Feeling the knight wolf's energy behind him, he turned. "So you have come to destroy me as well Koragg? No matter, it has been predestined, so there is little I can do." Chang said as the pair faced off. As Koragg unleashed his wolf attack, Chang smiled and fell off of the ledge, impaling himself like he had in the vision. Soon, Dave would rule over the storm as well as the shadows. It was all coming together, just like Dead Mountian Scrolls had predicted.

In Rootcore, the crystal ball flared to life, showing the scene of Chang's death. Udonna bowed her head and began a short little prayer. Despite Chang having supposedly died during the great war, it was clear that he had been revived for some reason. Struck by a sudden thought, she strode across the room to one of the bookshelves and pulled down a dusty old tome. Flipping to one of the last pages, she stared. In the picture, were the guardian rangers, dressed in black robes like Organization XIII from Kingdom Hearts. And according to the book, they were all dead.

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Ah, the plot thickens...no, maybe it's congealed? Either way, REVIEW! 


	7. The Damned

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Ocs and the plot.

Sorry about the long wait in updates, but a lot has been going on.

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Chapter Seven: The Damned

As Udonna stared at the picture, she felt a strong magic aura approaching. Turning, she saw it was Chang's ghost. "So you have discovered our little secret?" he asked. She nodded. "Then you should know why we are still here." he said as he floated through the table. She shook her head, finding herself unable to speak for some reason. "Allow me to explain then. When a Lunarian is born, it is given a mission that it must complete before it dies. But the Lunarian must first discover what that mission is. The dragonlets, or guardian rangers, as you call them, never discovered their missions before the planet was destroyed by the morlocks, therefore making them basically immortal until that time. Once they complete their missions, whether they have discovered what it is or not, they will die." Chang's ghost explained as he phased in and out of sight.

In the depths of the underworld, Koragg stood in the center of a room, hydiacs and styxoids surrounding him. Without warning, they all attacked. Koragg drew his sword with lightning speed and destroyed them with a flurry of slashes and thrusts. His powers were increasing, and soon he would be able to destroy the rangers.

Miles away, while still in the underworld, at the gates, Dave stood before the crack, shaking his head sadly as it expanded still more. "What must I do to stop this?" he whispered as he destroyed a hidiac who attacked him, it's body imploding on contact. "Now that Uncle is dead, things have gotten worse. The power balance has shifted away from us." as he contemplated this, he felt a strange tingling feeling creeping up his arm. He ignored it and crushed another styxoid, pus exploding from the wounds he inflicted. The tingling feeling only got stronger. Looking down, he stared. There was a coil of pure electricty slithering up and down his arm like a snake. His crystal burned for about two seconds, and when he looked, there was a new symbol: the japanese charecter which meant storm. He had just gained the power of the storm.

Giaton stopped his training and swore. His senses were telling him that the black ranger was stronger than ever now. If he got any stronger, he might actually pose a threat. If he got any stronger, he would be able to break the power barrier that the lunarian sages had placed on him as a boy. If he got any stronger, he might actually win...

In the Rockporium, Xander was knee deep in arguing with Vida over using her car for some half-cocked idea of Derak's. Ever since Chang had died, they had been a little screwy. Okay, it was as if they had done off the deep end and broke through the bottom of the crazy pool. As a result they had been officially banned from the mall, due to Derak doing a moonsualt off of the top floor into the fountian, whilst Dave jumped said fountain on his motorcycle. Tire treadmarks everywhere.

"C'mon, Vi, we're not gonna destroy it! We're just gonna race it!" he whined. She snorted. "Forget it Xander. It's not gonna happen." Vida said with a roll of her eyes as she began to spin up some new music. Ashlee looked up from beowsing through the CDs with a look of distaste on her face. The selection reminded her of her grandparents' record collection.

The conversation was interuppted by a huge crash of thunder as a torrent of rain pelted the fair city, making the people outside run for cover like rats running from an angry barncat. Ian looked up from the chair he was sitting in. "Muugc mega Tyja ec ryjehk vih."("Looks like Dave is having fun.") He said sarcastically to Derak who was juggling what appeared to be everyone's left shoe. Like I said, screwy. "Yd maycd uha uv ic ec."("Atleast one of us is.") Derak grumbled as he tossed them still higher. He swore as Ashlee threw another into the mix, forcing him to increase his pace. The rest of the store watched amused as his friends threw in more and more inanimate objects, until he had about twenty differant objects passing between his hands and arching through the air.

While all of this was taking place, Giaton was preparing to teleport to the moon, the site of one of the greatest missions in power rangers history: the Forever Red Mission. As he landed softly on the dusty surface of the moon, he stopped and inhaled. Despite the fact that there was no air, he could breathe perfectly. A trait all Lunarians shared. A simple glance told him what he sought was here. There, in a mountainous pile of ruin, was the remains of the mighty Serpentara. He smiled evilly. With this, he would destroy the gates, and unleash all of the underworld and crush those pathectic reject rangers.

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A massive table sat in the centre of an equally massive room. Chang's ghost floated through the wall, and took a seat. Other ghosts of powerful and wise Lunarians flitted in and out, all taking thier respective seats. This was the place all Lunarians strove to reach: The Hall of Honor. To gain a seat here was to gain true greatness. Chang looked at the three seats next to him and sighed. The dragonlets would be joining him here, all except Dave. He had once had a seat here, but had lost it long ago. Something about inpurity. If there was ever a pure-hearted Lunarian, it was the maiden on his left. Her name? Myra was what she was called. Other than she was the princesses hand maiden, he knew nothing of her.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the pounding of a gavel. Looking toward the head of the table, he saw Lunaria's first king, Kunai. "We welcome our newest edition, Son Chang Aikido. Long has he defended against the demons of the underworld, and he joins us at last." Kunai said grandly. Chang stood and bowed to the rest of the table. "Now, the matter of the dragonlets as you call them." Chang nodded and stood again. "They have yet to discover their destiny, sire. Three of them shall join us here, as has preordained. But the fourth has accepted his place among the damned, for reasons not known to me." He said clearly as whispers broke out. One of the guardians of Lunaria had chosen damnation? What kind of fool would do such a thing?

Kunai nodded gravely. "The renegade Michael, no doubt." he said tiredly. "That's right." a new voice said from the door way. The group turned to see Derak standing there. "Ah, the famed geomancer. Tell us, why is this?" Another asked. Derak cringed. He knew that voice. It was his old comrade at arms, Justin, better known here as Domas. "I will answer that." a soft, gentle voice said. All eyes turned toward Myra. "He does not wish to see his old comrades, those that he failed." she said simply. Derak nodded. How she knew this, he had no clue. His eyes suddenly went blood red again.

_Dave stood in a garden, gazing across the still lands. There was a rustling sound somewhere behind him. "You're late, love." he said softly. A strong yet femine arm curled around his waist as she stood next to him. "I know. Mercedes was being a bit intolerable tonight. She seems to think that you're hers." the female said as a light breeze blew softly across the garden, sending the smell of flowers drifting through the air. He turned toward her and wrapped his arms around her petite waist. She looked up at his tanned face, an uncommon trait among Lunarians. "How is our little one doing?" he whispered, referring to the child she carried. "It's growing strong, just like you." she said with a smile._

As the light floated across her face, Derak's vision falied. She sounded so familiar...where had he heard that vioce before? Dave was expecting a child before the war began, that much was clear. Funny, he had never told him he was married.

"Is there a problem, Derak?" Kunai asked. Derak shook his head. Chang looked at him strangely. "Just a flash back, that's all." he said. This sent more whispers running through the room. "What did you see?" Kunai asked, his soul piercing gaze settling on DErak. "A battle." he said simply. Myra looked at him, and her widened slightly. Derak glanced at her, and did a double take. She looked exactly like Madison.

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Dave sat in a closed room, which was dark, save for the slight glow emanating from his body. All Lunarians could do this. Derak had just seen one of his most precious memories. The time was drawing near. His friends knew of his loss of his seat in the Hall of Honor, but they knew not the true reason. It was because of that wretch of a princess. She had discovered his secret marriage, and ordered his pregnant wife to be excuted while he was on the Dragon Flight mission. But something unexpected happened. Merrick, the Lunar dragoon, had discovered the plot, and attempted to stop it. He failed, and was made the lunar wolf. He had returned just in time to bear witness to the unholy deed, and went berserk, destroying the nearest planet, the morlock home world, Vigal, and in the process, started the war with the magic world, where the morlocks destroyed lunaria. Just one more thing to be done before th circle was complete.

Nick stared at the object Dave had given him. It was some sort of wrist guard. As soon as he had put it on, it wouldn't come off. There was a button on it, but it did nothing when he pushed it. It was useless. He should've known he couldn't trust that creature. As he contempalted this further, his morpher activated without warning, and he was transported to what appeared to be a realm of fire, clad in ruby ebcrusted armor, holding his sword. "I see you have discovered the secret of the battlizer." he heard a voice say. He spun to see Dave standing there, clad in a pair of black Hakama pants, also holding a sword. "Now let us see how well you can use it." he said as he charged. Nick dodged, and swung his own sword, shocked when a wave of fire erupted from the blade. Dave ducked the flames and attacked again. Nick raised his empty hand to shield himself, and was even more surprised when a torent of fireballs issued forth, only to be slashed away by Dave. "Good. Now use it to defeat Koragg." Dave said as Nick demorphed and appeared back in his room.

In the underworld, a small group of creatures stood before "the master". With a flick of its wrist, an image of Dave appeared. "Destroy this creature. Doing so shall earn your seats the Hall." it said. The creatures bowed and disappeared. The master stepped out and pulled its hood back. "Now then, Michael, let us see how you react to us." he said as he straightened his crown. If Michael knew, he would no doubt destroy him. That was why he wouldn't find out. He would never know the master was his former king.

As Dave entered his realm, he stiffened. Blade stood before him, his eyes glowing purple. "The master has ordered me to destroy you, Michael." he said in a hollow distorted voice. As blade charged, more warriors appeared and joined him. Dave leaped over them as the watch face changed and lightning swirled around his right hand. "Dragonic Storm, Guardian Form!" he shouted as he slammed his right fist into the ground, causing spheres of energy to erupt and explode around him. When the settled, Blade and co could not belive what they saw. Instead of his usual costume, Dave now wore a costume exactly like the gold ranger's, except his helmet remained the same. "Let's rumble."

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More is revealed. Who was Dave's wife? And what will happen now?

REVIEW!


	8. Eye of the Storm

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the OCs, the L:unarians, and the plot. Everything else is liscensed trademark.

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Chapter Eight: Eye of the Storm

Blade stared. Whatever his former master had done, he was much more powerful now than he ever was. Dave drew his sword and attacked relentlessly, destroying his enemies with ease. At last it was down to the two of them. "I trusted you Balde. And you have gone and thrown in your lot with those demons." Dave shouted as the two leaped high into the air, their blades meeting with titantic clashes, sending showers of sparks to the ground. Dave had never felt a power like this before, volatile one second, clam the next. It was as if a storm was coursing through his blood. As the impact of their blades knocked them apart once more, Dave charged up a massive orb of energy and unleashed it. As he fell towards the earth, he fired off many more just like it. Within seconds, his once faithful retainer was destroyed.

As he landed, he demorphed and knelt by the remains of Blade. There was a mark on him, one that he had not seen in a long while. Pulling up his right sleeve, he swore heavily in Lunarian. It was the mark of the king. The master of the underworld was the man he had once bowed to.

Ian's eyes opened slowly. He had just seen the thing he had hoped never to see: how Derak would die. Like Chang, it was against Koragg. However, this battle took place on a doomed armored machine of some sort. He cringed as he felt the virtual pain of the wolf attack blasting him right into a blazing inferno. If he was being killed, then that meant he had at some point accomplished his mission. 'accomplish it he did, wolf.' a gentle voice said in his mind. Ian looked at his surroundings, only to find himself in a beautiful garden. Standing before him was a woman in a white dress, a rapier hanging at her side. Ian stared at her. "Madison?" he asked uncertainly. "No, that is not my name." she said in her musical voice. "Think, Eenara, who am I?" she asked, sounding slightly annoyed. Ian stared. "Myra..."

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The Hall of Honor buzzed with mixed emotions as they watched Myra's interaction with the one called Ian. Chang watched intently, searching for one detail. There it was. When she had reached up and brushed her hair aside, he saw it. The one detail Dave had managed to tell him. Chang stood abrubtly and strode form the hall, ignoring the shouts behind him. If he was right, things were about to go from bad to worse thanks to Myra's interference.

As he flew across the land, he cursed himslef for not relizing it sooner. She was right there the whole time, the key to freeing them all from this hell. He just prayed that Giaton didn't find out before he reached her. That must have been why Dave had been attracted to her when he first saw her. That was what the image in the mirror meant. Madison is the key...

Kunai stared at the pool of water showing Chang flying with the speed of a diving hawk over the land toward the portal to the mortal world. "Merrick, where is he going?" he asked. The lunar wolf looked at the image, then at the other, which still showed Ian and Myra talking. After a moment, he reached a conclusion. "He is going to prevent the apocalypse." Merrick said slowly, deliberately. Kunai looked at him wearily. "If it comes to it, will he directly interfere?" he asked the stoic wolf.

"Without a doubt, your majesty." a female voice said from the doors. There stood Ashlee, a grim look upon her face. "Dave has become the Storm Dragoon." she said gravely. One of the more faint hearted members fainted, while others paled. The Storm Dragoon had been what they and the morlocks had teamed up to destroy. They divided its power into three stones: the sun storm dragon stone, which went to Ashlee, the black shadow dragon ston, which went to Dave, and finally, the storm dragon stone, which was given to Chang. Dave had unknowingly brought this engine of destruction one step closer into exhistance upon fusing his and Ashlees stones, making him the shadow storm dragoon. When Chang gave him his power, he brought it back into exhistance fully. And now, if he broke the power barrier they had placed upon him, he would destroy everything. Including himslef. That, was his destiny.

Chang flew through the portal and resumed his spectral form. His senses told him that Dave had already accessed the power, and had destroyed six being in under ten minutes. At this rate, he would unleash the full power in a matter of days. He had to find the mystic force and warn them of the impending danger.

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Ian stared at the woman before him. The princesses hand maiden, and the fiercest female warrior on the planet. There were few who could match her sword skills. "What do you want with me, Myra?" he asked as his hand subconciously went to the cutlass at his side. Myra looked at him with extreme amusement. "You honestly think that if you drew that weapon you would last more than five minutes, Eenara?" she said as he flexed his fingers around the grip. Ian grinned cockily, something he rarely did. "You wanna find out?" he asked as he drew it in one fluid motion. She only laughed. "You truly do have courage. Now I see why the wolf chose you." she said as he sheathed his sword. "What do you want, Myra?" he asked again. "I wanted to warn you. Dave is close to breaking the spell." she said as she faded away. Ian looked very confused. Spell?

His thought were interupted by the sound of an explosion. Running outside, he could only stare in horror. It was Serpentara. Then he remembered Dave telling him about WEAPON. It was worth a shot. "Emerald WEAPON! Rise from the seas and heed my call!" he whispered as he ducked into an alley and morphed. The said creature landed, showing that Serpentara wasn't the only one who was big and packing enough fire power to destroy a planet. Ian leaped into the cockpit, and strapped himself in for a long fight.

Inside Serpentara, Giaton laughed. The wolf actually thought that giant sea going machine stood a chance? He stopped laughing as the WEAPON fired its famous emerald beam, which resembled a lot of reddish orange bubbles, growing larger and larger as they approached their target. Giaton swore and swerved to the right, causing the beam to destroy a small mountain. "You can't dodge forever, Giaton. And then not even Serpentara's armor will protect you!" Ian said over the comm. "Then I guess I'll hvae to do something about that!" Giaton shouted back. Ian cursed as he fired another emrald beam, cancelling out Serpentara's beam attack. "Need a little help, bro?" he heard Derak ask as he appeared and strapped himself into one of the other seats. "Sure." Ian yelled back, opening the four eyes on the machina for the first time. Each one fired a mass beam, obliterating Serpentara's aromr. But Ian wasn't done yet. "Derak, convert all energy to the upper body seperation core.." he said as he charged up the machina's ultimate attack: Aire Tam Storm. Derak nodded. He wanted Giaton gone as much as Ian did.

Inside Serpentara, Giaton was trying in vain to bring the system back online. An alarm bell going off made him look up. He stared. The upper body had risen off of the emerald WEAPON, and was flying directly over him. With a sigh, he said "He fights and runs away lives to fight another day." as he vanished.

"Derak, you okay?" Ian asked. He nodded. Their conversation was cut short by the lower body exploding beneatth them. "DAMN!" Ian shouted as he fought to keep the upper body aloft, having little success. "I'll go see what I can do!" Derak yelled as he ran out onto the roof. Then Ian relized what was about to happen. "DERAK, NO!" he yelled as he saw Koragg swooping in, relizing what was about to happen. Derak turned toward Ian, and was rewarded with a wolf attack into a massive explosion. Ian's eyes went blood red as wolverine like claws emerged from his hands. Koragg turned to Ian, laughing. He stopped as Ian leapt toward him, a hurricane of claws. So this was why Giaton had warned him never to anger him. Within seconds, Koragg's sheild and sword were shattered and Ian was rearing back for the final blow. As the claws came streaking toward him, a blue blade blocked them. "Now is not the time, Eenara." a female voice said. He looked up to see Madison, a blue symbol glowing on her forehead. Ian's claws slowly disappeared. He nodded as the WEAPON sank into the sea. He hadn't even noticed that it was in motion until just now. He slowly walked toward the defenseless knightwolf and spoke in a tone he had never used before: one full of anger, hatred, things he avoided. "For your sake, I hope Dave gets you first. Because if he doesn't, I will." he said as he teleported Koragg away to the underworld. Then, he teleported to his world. A world of eternal beauty and grace, where he was at peace, no matter what happened.

As Ian walked among the trees, he sighed. Derak and Chang were both dead, Dave had come one step closer to becoming a full fledged dragoon, and his zord was completely destroyed. No matter how he looked at it, things were looking bleak. "Really, Eenara?" he heard a femine voice ask lightly. He turned toward the voice, once again to find Myra standing there, this time garbed for battle. "What is it you want for me to do?" he whispered. She just shook her head.

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Inside the Hall of Honor, Derak stood as Chang had mere days before. Taking a deep breath, he began to speak, knowing what he was about to say would rock the council on its axis. "The other day, when I was last here, I was asked if there was a problem. I lied." he said, ignoring the angry whispers that broke out. "Of late I have been seeing the renegade Michael's memories." he said. The hall erupted into fits of outrage. To see another Lunarian's memories was a bad omen. "The last one I saw was of him and his wife." "He had no wife." one said. Domas shook his head. "Apparently he married her in secret. That means that she was someone who would've been killed upon the ceremonies completetion." he said, his knowledge of Luarian law eveident. "And I belive I know who the witness was." he said softly as he looked at Merrick. "And I belive I know who." Derak said in the same tone."

Deep within the underworld, Dave stood before the gates. He smiled softly. He had learned of his mission long ago, and was ready to complete it. To a passing demon, he would seem happy. But the look in his eyes betrayed that notion. His eyes were anguished, for he would soon take his place among the demons of the underworld. "Good-bye, my friends." he whispered as he melded through the gates.

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And so Koragg has claimed another victim. What will happen now? find out next time! and in the meantime, REVIEW!


	9. It begins to unravel

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs, their powers, and the plot.

Sorry about the long delay in updates.

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Chapter Nine: It Begins to Unravel

Dave drew his sword and slashed a hidiac in half upon emerging from the gate. The said hidiac's fellows attacked, screeching with rage. As he dodged and returned the slashes with his own, he felt a strange energy approaching. It was vaguely like his uncle's, but more on the spectral side. As he charged up an energy attack, a ghostly presence swept through the area, causing the hidaics to screech and flee. Dave lowered his sword and stared at the thing before him. It was Chang's ghost. "Uncle...come to try and stop me from completing my mission?" he asked softly. Chang's ghost only nodded. Dave sighed and looked toward what was supposed to be the sky in the underworld. "I cannot let you do that." Dave said as he morphed again, preparing to fight his Uncle's ghost.

In the Hall of Honor, the council stared at Derak. "What did you just say, Pheonix?" Kunai asked sternly. "The witness was Merrick." Derak said softly. All eyes swiveled toward the former wild force ranger. "Yes. That is correct. He was my son, after all." Merrick said. "And would you happen to know who his wife was, Derak?" Merrick asked, dreading the answer. "I was." Myra said, causin the hall to erupt into screams of rage. "Yet he has still accepted his place among the damned for what he has done throughout his exhistance after the destruction." Kunai said, eyeing her carefully. She sobbed a bit, and nodded. One could almost see the wheels turning inside Kunai's ancient and wise mind. "Very well. We shall first see how this plays out before we make our final decision."

Chang sighed and drew his sword. Despite being a ghost, his sword was all too real. As he and Dave fell into their stances, a volcano erupted somewhere behind them, making it look more like a scene from a movie than an actual duel. As the pair charged, it began raining lightly, making the rocky ground insanely slick. Chang smiled grimmly; he now had every advantage to win this fight. The only problem was Dave's will to win. When in battle, Dave seemed to adopt a "never say die" attitude, and lived it. As the two combatants swung the swords, Chang noticed something about Dave he hadn't before: he seemed to be using a style of fighting used by knights who had a major flaw, like blindness. 'THAT'S IT!' Chang roared in his mind. How Dave had managed to keep this a secret was beyond him, but he was going to exploit it.

Dave grunted as he dodged a slash, and then let out a cry of surprise as Chang reversed the slash and gave him a lovely gash on his left side, right where one of his old wounds was. Now that it was re-opened, the blood poured out even more than it had the first time. How had he done that? Dave dodged another slash, and excuted a powerful raising slash, breaking Chang's guard, and then slashing across Chang's stomach, causing silvery looking blood to flow forth. Chang grunted in pain. Not even his disability was keeping him down. This must've been why Mercedes chose him for her protector.

The Hall of Honor was strangely quiet as the occupants watched the duel between the two. Michael had grown much since his time as a knight, that much was clear. The fact that Chang had discovered that Michael was blind was a testament to his knowledge on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, in the rockporium, the guardian rangers were gone, making the store strangely quiet. Madison had just finished socking the new CDs when it began to to rain like hell. Everyone jumped at a huge crash of thunder, as their communicators went off. The mystic force looked at each other and dashed from the store, into the torrential downpour, only to be met by a massive amount of hidiacs and styxiods. As the battle beagn, Ian and Ashlee both appeared in morph, seemingly invincible, yelling "Death is on the wind!". Xander barely dodged a slash from a stixoid, and beheaded the thing with his axe. The others drew their weapons, and went to work.

As Chang went to deliver a spinning slash, Dave dodged, reversed the strike, and impaled the ghost of his uncle. "Don't try to stop me..." he hissed as he pulled his sword out and strode off into the underworld, leaving a trial of blood as he limped away.

The hall of honor sat in stunned silence. No one had ever defeated Chang without using Dark magic. Derak's eyes went red again, this time showing a very personal memory of Chang's: the birth of Dave, and the seal being placed upon him. Derak looked up at the screen and grimaced. The seal was about to crack.

As Dave entered the throne room, Giaton and Koragg both stared surprised, then laughed. After all, Dave was soaked to the skin, had little use of his right leg, and was steadily losing blood and energy. They stopped laughing when leathery, jet black wings exploded from Dave's back, sending a shower of blood everywhere behind him. He had finally unlocked his true potential. With a savage roar, Dave attacked.

Up on the surface, Ian and Ashlee stiffend. They could feel the energy pulsing. As it they felt it growing stronger, they failed to notice the monster that had been sent charging up a huge blast, until it was about to be fired. They looked at each other, and before it hit, said the three words everyone dreams of hearing. As the blast exploded, Madison screamed, fell to her knees, and began clutching her head. It felt like something was trying to tear her apart inside. When she recovered and stood up, all the hidiacs and the monster was dead, and she was holding a very bloody sword. The others stared at her speechless. Their attention was suddenly drawn to Ian, who by the looks of things, was at death's door. Ashlee had died in the explosion. The rangers shook with silent sobbs. "Stop...him..." Ian said in a ragged voice "Stop...Dave..." he said again as he passed. The rangers looked at each other and nodded.

Deep in the underworld, Dave stood over Giaton as he held onto the edge of a cliff, the only thing preventing the druid from falling into a writhing pit of the damned. "Kill me, dragon." he seethed. Dave lifted his sword in an almost zombie-like manner, and sheathed it. "Killing you won't change a thing, you bastard." he said as he powered down. Giaton screamed in fury as Dave began to fade. This wasn't supposed to happen!

The hall of honor buzzed with mixed emotions as Dave appeared on the surface world, inside his zord. "This will end very badly..." Kunai whispered as it drew its sword.

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Sorry this was so short, but there's onlt one more chapter to go, and it should be longer. 


	10. Pain and Honor

As soon as he appeared, a single thought entered Dave's mind:the destruction of this plane of exhistance. Slashing a building In half, he laughed as thousands lost their lives, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As he went to destroy another, a second sword blocked his path. The red zord. "Always in my way, aren't you?" he snarled as he reversed the slash and spun into a low kick, destroying a warehouse and knocking Nick over. "Stay away from him!" he heard Madison yell, horrified. "Ah, the deformed water dragon. How quaint." Dave said, a touch of acid in his voice. He turned to her, and saw the other three standing behind her. "You honestly think you can defeat me? The Renegade, Vice Commander of the Twilight Steel, of the Lunarian Aegis knights?" He asked, luaghing maniacly. "A knight would never act the way you are! He would fight us with honor!" Chip yelled back. They saw Dave's zord stop, and lower it's sword. "True. In that case, I challenge you all to personal combat. To the victor goes the decision of the fate of this world." He said. "We accept." Nick said as he finally got to his feet.

Kunai and the rest of the Hall of Honor watched, cringing with every blow that was landed. Ian watched and shook his head sadly. "If Chang couldn't beat him, how will they? He has broken the seal we placed upon him so long ago." One of the sages said, shaking his head. Derak looked at him. "They will. They're fighting to protect their world." He said as heads turned to look at him. "I learned long ago not to underestimate the power of a human's will to win when battles of this nature are fought. They will prevail, and Dave will stand before us to be judged." He finished. Kunai nodded. "That he shall, whether they win or no. I have prepared for an occaison such as this." He said with a sigh. The Hall fell silent as Kunai stood and strode across the room to a display case. Within it, his ancient blade. Kunai sighed again as he opened the case and removed the longsword from it's resting place. "Bring my armor!" He ordered to another member.

Dave looked at Vida, who ahd just fallen to his swordpaly. "I could kill you, but I have enough sins to pay for. Who fights next?" he asked. Chip stepped forward. "I do." Dave nodded. "In a moment." He knelt next to the fallen Vida, and after a quick spell, healed the wound she had dealt her. "Let us beign, Thunderer." With that, Dave rushed Chip, who fired ten bolts of lightning at him, which were all slashed in half. Converting his bow back to staff mode, he attempted to block Dave's onslaught of slashes. He couldn't. After being knocked backwards, he dropped his weapon. Dave looked at him, and dropped his sword as well. With a rawthroated yell, Chip charged. Dave ducked his initial round kick, and then stepped to the right to dodge a three punch combo. Chip was fast, but not very strong. That would be his downfall. Dave suddenly caught Chip's next kick at the ankle, and countered with a kick of his own to the bend of Chip's knee. Chip shouted in pain as their was an audible crack. Chip was fought next. Dave looked at him with calcualating eyes. The green ranger was by far the most physically dominant member of their team, as well as an earth magic master, though not on the same level as Ian, Dave noted. The battle beagn with Xander lifting dave and hurling him ten feet away, where he collided with a cliff wall with a massive crash. Fter a few moments of being beaten senseless, Dave roared dragonically and hurled Xander away with a push of his chi. Struggling to stand, He stood and faced off with Xander again, this time taking up a foreign stance. Any Lunarian would've recognized that stance, as it belonged to their greatest warrior, and most hated villian, Drago. Fist of the North dragon. Xander charged, and began punishing dave with as many blows as he could, even reverting to old school wrestling holds and throws. Dave grunted as the pain shot through his entire body. He had slowly began circling, unnoticed by Xander and the others, until it was too late. "DRAGON HEAVEN BLAST!" Dave roared as he dealt a powerful uppercut to Xander, charged with all the damage he had just received. Xander landed in a crumpled heap, beyond the point of continuing.

Dave turned to the final ranger, and drew a ragged breath. "Next." He whispered hoarsely. Madison had been the first to fall, refusing to attack, only defending herself while trying to talk some sense into the fallen dragon. Nick stepped forward and drew his sword, then activated the battilizer Dave had given him. "So, you choose to use that on me rather than Koragg? Very well. This is a one time use though." Dave commented as he fell into another stance and activated his new morph. He had been using his old one for the last few battles, and they had seen all its tricks. Nick slashed as he had before, unleashing the wave of fire, which Dave canceled out with a wave of lightning. "You'll never beat me this way, pheonix." He shouted as he ducked and sent a small bolt to his unprotected left leg. Nick dodged, as Dave had expected. The next thing Nick knew, he was on the ground, out of morph, with a sword sticking through his chest. A Dave removed the blade, he heard him speak. "Long have my dreams been dark and filled with hate. I thought you were the source of it. I was wrong. Now you seem doomed to die at my wretched hands. Another sin I must atone for." Dave said softly. No. There was another way. Dave looked down, and slashed his own left hand open, letting the blood fall on Nick's wound, and chanted a quick spell. The Blood Heal. "You have done many terrible things, Renegade." He heard a voice say. Dave turned and saw Koragg standing there, ready for battle. Before dave could respond, the Gte's to the Underworld erupted from the ground and exploded, releasing the hordes upon the world. Dave looked at what he had done, and sighed. "The code forbids I let you do this." He said as he summoned the powers sealed within him. A massive group of massive Black Tornados ripped down from the sky and formed a wall between them and the city. "We settle this now. My redemption is at hand." Dave declared as another tornado, pitch black with swirls of gold and green sweeping through it encased him. When it disappated, Dave stood a Dragoon in full. His armor had been reapired to black plate mail with a blazing emerald set in the centre, with golden crystaline wings sprouting from his back, making him hover about a foot off the ground. His sword had been replaced by the Sword of Ancient Kings, and was blazing in the light. Lightning crackled across his body, making his burning red hair stand on end. Let's rumble." He said as he raised his sword.

In the Hall, Chang watched and smiled, as did everyone else. "Some one go tell Kunai to stop breaking himself in half trying to lift his sword again. He ain't gonna need it." Ashlee said with a smirk.

Koragg watched in horror as dave destroyed legoins of his army without even breaking a sweat. This was what Giaton had warned him about before Koragg had cast him into that pit Dave had left him hanging over. And then, he landed before him. "It's time that you pay for the death of my father. I've waited for this moment for a long time." Dave whispered as Koragg drew his sword. The two slowly began circling as they slashed at eachother faster that the eye could see. The only way to tell where the other blade was was by the telltale spars of their swords colliding. Koragg grunted at the power behind each slash. The two both swung again, and their combined power knocked the other away to about a twelve feet interval. "WOLF ATTACK!" Koragg screamed. Dave grinned darkly as the beams headed toward him. It was finally time. "FUH-RIN-KA-ZIN!!" Dave shouted as a slash of wind flew to his outstretched right hand, followed by a geyser of water, a cascade of boulders, an eruption of fire, and ended with a shower of lightning. The five energies fused into one massive beam, which dave luanched at the Knight Wolf and the remaining demons. The resulting explosion kicked up so much dust that the mystic force couldn't even see out of their visors. Whe the dust settled, they gasped. There, on the ground, surrounded by the bodies of his enemies, laid Dave. Madison rushed over to him. He looked up and grinned for a second, then coughed up blood. "Heh. Guess Da was right. There was still some bit of good left in me." He said as he coughed up more blood. "You're dying…" Madison whispered. "Yeah…that's what happens when you complete your mission…do you know what a Lunairian fears the most?" he asked softly, his voice ragged. She shook her head, tears flowing as she pulled her helmet off. "Our destiny. Everything else take's the back burner. That's why when most learn of their mission in life, they put it oft as long as they can. I didn't have a choice." He whispered. "You're still gonna die…?" she whispered back, her voice choked by her sobs. "That's what happenes when you put your entire being into an attack like that." He said with a mirthless chuckle. And with that, Michael von Armster, the last Lunarian died, and hi body turned to dust.

Dave stood before the Hall of Honor(his blindness had been healed upon his arrival here), looking at each face, searching for the one that meant the most to him. "Michael." He heard Kunai say sternly. Dave bowed his head and stepped forward onto the Pedestal of Judgement. "Over the course of your exhistance, you have behaved like two different people. One who held Honor above all, and one who was Lawless. A place among the damned was reserved for you after you destroyed Vigal, but we were beginning to reconsider our decision when you started trying to end your own exhistance. And then you made the decision to face off against the Underworld alone." Kunai began. Dave sighed as a single tear slid out of the corner of his right eye. "Do you still wish to descend into oblivion?" Kunai asked. Dave looked up, shocked. Rarely was a Luanrian given the choice. "I…I just want to see my wife, Sensei." Dave said as the Pedestal lowered to the floor. "I'm here." He heard her musical voice say behind him. He turned. There she was. His Myra. "I've missed you." He said as he swept over and held her. He grunted in shock and pain as she punched him in the gut. "Don't you ever do that to me again." She whispered as she hugged him fiercely. "I won't. Beloved."


End file.
